The Loud Dawg House
by SkorchNTorch
Summary: After his last adventure, Mad Dawg believed he was dead... only to wake up in a whole new world. Now, Mad Dawg finds himself without any of his old friends... and instead, meeting the Loud Family. Great, just what this town needed... Regardless, follow Dawg on his quest to get home, find out if he can have a normal life, and above all, SCORE TACOS!
1. Crash Landing

Things had been relatively normal, for once. The Loud family was having what to them was a calm day, most of the kids were either pre-occupied with hobbies, or hanging out with friends. Lori had been spending the day with Bobby, but then had to take a few of her younger siblings somewhere. Normally this would annoy her to no end, but things seemed… different today.

Now, Lincoln, Lori, Luna, and Leni were on their way to… somewhere. Granted, it didn't really matter, because wherever they were going, they weren't going to get there.

"Hey, like I've been saying." Lori shrugged, casting a glance over her shoulder back at her family. "Sometimes you just need to take some time off and breathe, just take a step back and-"

_**CRUNCH! **_

Without warning, a large figure seemed to fall out of the sky and landed on the windshield of the van, falling off and onto the ground with a sickening snapping sound. The van screeched to a halt after accidentally hitting the figure once again, sending it rolling somewhat down the road.

"What the heck was that!?" Lincoln shouted, his eyes inhumanely wide at the cracked (and very bloody) windshield.

"I…I…" Lori stammered, horrified at what had just happened. "Was that a deer?"

"That's not a deer. That was a person." Leni blinked in shock as she looked at the mangled bloody mess in front of them. "Lori! You hit a person!"

"What!? No, I didn't!" The oldest Loud shouted back. "He just… fell on the van!"

"Fell!? From where!? There's no bridges around here!"

"I just… I… I think… Ohmygosh he's dead…" Lori stammered feeling sick as she looked at the mangle body in front of them, it seemed burned, beaten, glass stuck in it…

"Lincoln, you and the others stay in here. If he's dead, call the cops. If he's somehow alive, call an ambulance." Leni ordered.

"Are you insane?! If he's dead or alive we're going to jail regardless!" Lori shouted.

"No, _you're _going to jail." Luna remarked, finally finding her voice. "You're technically the one who hit him, so you'd be held responsible for it."

"Shut up Luna!"

"Lori!" Leni shouted. "Get a grip! We need to see if he's alive or dead!"

Before the oldest loud could say anything, her younger sister had opened the door and gotten out. Lori shivered and shut off the van, slowly getting out and looking at the front of the van. The windshield was heavily cracked, and blood and dents were now covering the hood of the van. Slowly following the trail over to the body, she saw Leni slowly pushing the body over with a stick.

"This is so wrong…" She muttered.

Looking at the figure, she saw it was a boy, around Lori's age, but he seemed like he had been in a war. His chest seemed burned and scarred beyond all recognition, part of his face seemed to be missing his face, revealing bone. The eldest loud looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where the boy had come from… there were no bridges, there were no trees over the road… where the heck did he come from?

"The poor thing…" Leni muttered, getting on her knees to get a closer look at the boy. "He looks to only be my age… who could've done this to him?"

"Leni. We need to call the cops." Lori finally spoke, having trouble getting the words out. "I don't care about the consequences… But if he has a family, they need to know what we- er, I did."

"Lori, it wasn't your fault. You didn't see him, he literally appeared out of thin air! The courts may not buy that, but I'll stand by-" Leni said looking away from the body, and then saw her sister's eyes widening in shock and horror. "What?"

Looking back down at the body, Leni gasped in shock as she saw the missing skin on his face was… regrowing. It seemed like his body was somehow healing at a supernatural pace, there was a gross sound, almost like skin being… well, you get the idea.

"Leni, back up." Lori said, taking a step back, scared as to what might happen. Before Leni could, the boys' eyes opened, then narrowed in anger as he suddenly yelled in fury and tacked Leni to the ground. Ripping a shard of glass form his gut he held it a few inches form Leni's eye.

"WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE TO KILL YOU?!" He roared, clearly not seeing what was going on around him. "I SWEAR AKANDE, I'M GONNA KILL YOU EVEN IF IT KIL-"

The boy suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in shock and horror as he saw what he was doing. Throwing the glass shard away, he fell backwards and tried to put some space between him and Leni.

"I…I…Oh geez… I I'm sorry!" He finally stammered out. "I…you…" Looking down he seemed to realize something, then screaming: "HOW AM I ALIVE!?"

_**BONK! **_

Not taking the freak-out too well, Lori had grabbed a sizable rock from nearby and thrown it at the boy. Injured or not, no one threatened her sister like that. The rock hit him on the head, and seemed to disorient him.

"LORI!" Leni shouted. "What was that for!?"

"He threatened you with gut glass!"

"Okay, fair. But that might have killed him!"

The two turned and looked when they heard the boy groan, seeing him pulling himself back up and rubbing his head.

"Nah, I deserved that…" He muttered. "But… I… I was dead! I blew up! How did I survive that…?"

The two sisters looked to one another, then back to the newcomer.

"Who are you?" Lori finally asked.

"What? Oh. My name's Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg said cracking his neck, looking around as if trying to figure out where he was. "Where… where the heck am I? Why does everything seem so… different?"

"Okay, back up." Lori said, looking 'Mad Dawg' up and down. "What's your _real _name?"

"Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg answered.

"No. Your _real_ name."

"It's ah… Captain pissoff…" Mad Dawg scowled ripping another shard of glass form his body, and the wound seemed to be mending itself.

"What's happening to your body?" Leni asked, staring in shock at the healing wounds.

"I have a healing factor." Mad Dawg answered, trying to stand, only for his legs to give out and he fell back onto the road, crying out in pain. "I should be dead."

"I'll say." Lori frowned, still not liking the look of 'Mad Dawg' (she didn't believe that was his real name). "You look like you were in a war."

"I was." Mad Dawg growled, pushing himself back up. "I set off a bagful of grenades, it was supposed to kill me…"

"Where did you come from?" Leni now asked, amazed that Mad Dawg was alive.

"It's a long story." Mad Dawg shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

The two sisters went quiet again, not sure what to do.

"Your… healing factor, how much of this will it heal?" Lori asked, looking at the still rather damaged body.

"Most of it." Mad Dawg shrugged, before crying out in pain as he seemed to push his leg back into place. "The glass and remains in my body are slowing it down, I'll need to pull it all out before I can fully heal."

"We need to take you to a hospital." Leni said, it sounded like she was more talking to herself, rather than to Mad Dawg.

"That's a bad idea." Mad Dawg groaned and he cracked his shoulder.

"Why would that be?"

"Regardless of what you say or do, call an ambulance, or take me there yourself, there's a really high chance you'll go down for irresponsible driving. Heck, that's the best case scenario, on the other side, it'd be attempted vehicular manslaughter at the worst."

"What!?" Leni shouted, anger in her voice. "You _fell _on our car!"

"Yeah? If the cops come back out here, what will they see? Any bridge? And trees?" Mad Dawg countered, his face re-gaining some of its colour. "You think they'll believe me if I tell them how I got here?"

"Something tells me you don't want the hospital to see you." Lori remarked.

"Kinda, yeah." Mad Dawg nodded. "Again, you think they'll believe me if I tell them anything about who I am?"

"So, what do you want?" Leni now sighed.

"I can fix your car." Mad Dawg said, surprising the two women. "I can pull the dents out, clean the blood off, and if anyone asks about the windshield, you can say a deer ran across the road, then kept running."

"And what do _you _get out of this?" Leni asked with a raised brow.

"I need a shower." Mad Dawg answered simply. "And some pliers, and alcohol."

The two sisters looked at Dawg with uncertainty. On the one hand, he had a point, there was a good chance if they took him to a hospital, no one would believe their story about where he came from. On the other hand, how would the others react to him?

"If we get you a place to clean up, you can fix the van?" Leni asked. "How quickly?"

"Patching myself up may take a few hours, and clean up might take a bit, but fixing your van should take two hours at most.

"That seems impossible." Lori stated. "Cleaning up the van, pulling the dents out, washing the whole thing… it would take a professional a day or two!"

"Yeah, but this kid appeared out of nowhere, seemed burned to death, got back up and has been self-healing." Leni sighed, seemingly admitting defeat. "And besides, we technically _did _hit him…"

"Well… Mom and dad are gone for the weekend…" Lori said thoughtfully. "If he's telling the truth, he could easily do all that before they get back and no one would be the wiser."

Leni took her sister a few feet away, back towards the van before speaking again.

"I don't like this." She said flatly. "He seems like a psychopath!"

"Look, I'm not saying I like this." Lori replied. "But I think we're screwed if we don't help him, if we do, and he's telling the truth, it'll be a lot better to hide what happened rather than try and explain it to mom and dad."

"Lori? Leni?"

The two turned and saw Luna leaning out form the side of the van.

"What's going on? How is he alive?"

"We'll explain in a second!" Lori called.

"He _attacked _you! HE nearly cut your eye out!" Leni countered, anger returning to her voice.

"Did you hear what he said? I think he came from a war." Lori simply replied.

"So, you _believe _him?!"

"No, but how do you explain what he's been doing?"

Leni's eye twitched and she bit her lip before groaning in annoyance.

"Fine." She hissed. "Let's get him in the van."

Lori walked back to vanzilla, while Leni walked back to Mad Dawg, who was weakly trying to get up.

"I'm only going to say this once." She said sternly, standing over Mad Dawg. "If you try and hurt _ANYONE, _regardless of what happens. You will be sorry."

Mad Dawg blinked, his face seemingly saying 'If you knew anything about me, you'd know that meant nothing.' But he nodded.

"Of course." He coughed. "Once I fix the van, you won't see me again."

"Alright then." Leni calmly said as she knelt down and put one of Dawg's arms around her shoulder. The skin felt hot, and Dawg grunted in pain as she helped him walk back towards the van.

"I'm Leni by the way. Leni Loud."

"As long as I'll be here, you can call me Kace if you don't wanna call me by my real name." Mad Dawg replied.

Once the two reached the van, Lori returned with a blanket and put it around Dawg.

"Thanks." He nodded as he slowly entered. When he got into the van he looked at the punk-rocker and the white-haired boy and the sports lover staring in shock up at him.

"_That's like the sixth or seventh time you've used 'Shocked' dude." _Mad Dawg thought. _"Try using the thesaurus…" _

"Hey." Mad Dawg said with a weak nod. "I'm Mad Dawg."

Taking a seat in one of the empty seats, Lori sat down and put the keys in the ignition, turning the van around.

"Shouldn't we call the police or something?" Lynn Jr. asked.

"No." Mad Dawg shook his head, pulling a chunk of debris from his right arm, and the wound healing. "I'll live."

Those who hadn't seen this watched in amazement, Lincoln looking up at Dawg, then back at his arm, then back up at Dawg.

"Are you like, a superhero or something?" Lincoln asked.

"No. Not a superhero." Mad Dawg shook his head, then quietly added: "I'm a mutant."

The rest of the ride was quiet. When they finally returned, Lori headed in to turn on the shower, and to make sure the others wouldn't notice the bloody figure making his way through the house. As Mad Dawg got up, Lincoln noticed that there was a mark, maybe a brand or a tattoo of a 'T' on his left underside of his arm.

"Hey, what's with the 'T'?" He asked, only to notice Dawg stiffen and breathe irradicably.

"Nothing." He growled before leaving and entering the Loud House. Noticing Leni standing near a door, he made his way over and entered the bathroom.

"Thanks." He nodded. "Bring the van into the garage, I'll fix it for ya."

Leni nodded, still not entirely believing him, but also willing to roll the dice and see if he could fix it like he claimed he could. As Dawg peeled a mangled, torn and blood-stained shirt off, she noticed both how many scars he had, and the fact that he seemed decently built. Then she realized he was starting to take the rest of his clothes off, and quickly closed the door.

Before stepping into the shower, Dawg saw the pliers sitting on the counter, as well as a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

"_How did I get here?" _He wondered to himself as he put the pliers into the sink and began pouring the alcohol over it to clean them. _"I shouldn't be alive… Is this heaven? No. It can't be, I'm bleeding. Then… no. It isn't hell either. I think." _

Stepping into the shower, Mad Dawg sighed, looking at the chunks sticking out from his body, knowing this was going to _hurt. _Thankfully, he was able to distract himself as he worked.

"_Lori and Leni seem nice enough… But can I trust them? If they know who I am… WHAT I am… How would they react to that?" _

Blood was pooling at his feet as Dawg groaned and pulled the remains of glass, stone and metal from his body.

"_Where am I though?" _He continued thinking. _"Jesse… Angela… Jack… Are they okay? Am I even in the same year as them? The same dimension?!" _

"_No." _He answered after a few moments. _"The tech, the cars… it's not the same. I'm somewhere new… Can I get back?" _

Scrubbing the dirt, debris and blood off of his body, Mad Dawg thought of something completely different.

"_Should I go back?" _He wondered. _"After all I did… What the hell am I thinking?! Of course, I should! They probably all think I'm dead! And I might be!"_

Finally satisfied, Mad Dawg got out of the shower and picked up a towel from the pile, drying himself off, he grimaced when he saw how filthy it was… Whoops. Grabbing another one, he wrapped it around his waist (as he didn't want to put his old, torn clothes back on) he heard banging on the door and opened it.

"Seriously Lincoln! What's taking you so lo-"

Mad Dawg looked down at a younger girl with messy hair and a chipped tooth, who looked back up at the shirtless Mad Dawg and trailed off. Mad Dawg didn't say anything, but picked up the garbage bag he had put his clothes into and left, feeling eyes as he walked back across the hall.

Entering the garage again, he looked over at Leni who blinked in surprise.

"Wait. Do you…" She began.

"No." Mad Dawg shook his head.

"…Uh… Wait here." Leni finally said, heading back inside. About a minute later, she returned with a pair of track pants and a t-shirt.

"Here. No one claimed these after the last laundry shuffle." She said, handing him the clothes. "Just…" She paused when she saw he seemed immensely better, most of his wounds were gone and his skin seemed cleaner.

"How did you…" She finally asked.

"Like I said, I heal." Mad Dawg shrugged taking the clothes. "Thanks, by the way."

Leni didn't know what to say, so she wordlessly left as Mad Dawg got to work. First, he turned his attention to the dents, knowing the bloodstains would be easy to remove regardless. He looked around the garage for a minute, finding the first two parts of what he needed, a plunger and a magnet. Setting them on the steps, he found a hammer and threw it up in a spin before catching it again. Setting it down, he realized what he was missing.

"Yo! Leni!" He called. A few moments later the brown-haired woman appeared.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"I need wither some boiling water or a hair dryer." He remarked. Leni blinked but shrugged walking back in and getting a hair dryer before bringing it back out to him. "Thanks."

Leni nodded in reply and paused, interested as to what he was doing. She watched as Mad Dawg duct taped a few small magnets onto the plunger, then spent about forty seconds heating up the large dents. He then pushed the plunger down and strained as he pulled it back up. There was that odd sound of metal waving as the dent came pack up, and Dawg gently tapped a few of the edges back down. To Leni's surprise, it looked like it had never been there.

"One down, more to go." Mad Dawg said aloud, looking over the hood. Leni watched as he carefully smoothed out the dents, taking almost paranoid levels of precaution. Eventually she figured he wasn't going to firebomb the car and went back in. A few minutes later, Lincoln came out.

"Hey… Mad Dawg? Not sure if you wanted it, but I got a can of Phoenix Energy for you."

Mad Dawg looked back, still not sure who was who in this world yet, before speaking.

"Oh, thanks kid." He remarked. Catching the can.

"I'm Lincoln." Lincoln introduced himself. "This might be a dumb question-"

"Yes, my name really is Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg answered coolly, cracking the can open and taking a sip. "Oh, dude! That is great!"

"In the car you said you were a mutant or something? Is that how you survived?" Lincoln asked as he watched Dawg keep working. Mad Dawg stopped and turned around slowly, and Lincoln was afraid he had overstepped a boundary.

"Okay. I have some questions, and I know you have some questions. This stays between us; got it?" Mad Dawg finally said.

"Y..yeah!" Lincoln exclaimed, a bit surprised by Dawg's answer.

"To answer your biggest question… technically speaking, I'm a mutant." Mad Dawg began, settling the plunger down and picking up a bottle of bleach. "I don't wanna go into details, but my healing ability is part of that." He seemed to be mixing stuff around before putting his hand in with a sponge, grunting in pain as Lincoln realized he had just put his hand into a bucket of bleach.

"Are you okay?!"

"Yeah. Probably should've thought that through…" He muttered. Pulling his hand out and beginning to wash the blood stains with the mixture, Lincoln watched as his hand seemed to be healing. "I'm fine now."

"How do you do that?" Lincoln asked in amazement.

"Dunno." Mad Dawg lied with a shrug.

"Where did you come from? You just seemed to fall out of nowhere." Lincoln then asked.

"Honestly, I think… I'm either from the future, or from another dimension." Mad Dawg finally said, his tone clearly saying: 'I know you think I'm crazy, but I'm being honest.'

Lincoln just blinked in surprise.

"I know you think I'm crazy… and if your… sister? I think? Grabbed my bag, and my stuff is still in it, I can prove it to you when I'm done."

"Okay, let's say I believe you." Lincoln said, noticing Mad Dawg roll his eyes with a 'Oh boy, here we go' look. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know." Mad Dawg shook his head. "The last thing I remember, I was literally blowing myself up… and then I saw the road for a millisecond, then you guys hit me."

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Mad Dawg took another sip from his drink.

"So how many of you are there?" Mad Dawg then asked. "There's you, and I've met four others."

"I have ten sisters." Lincoln replied, and Mad Dawg spat out his drink in shock.

"I'm sorry, _WHAT_!?" Mad Dawg half-exclaimed, half-laughed.

"Yeah, there's eleven of us." Lincoln nodded. "I'm the only guy."

"Man, that must suck…" He muttered.

"Eh, it has its ups and downs." Lincoln shrugged. "I'm used to it, and besides, they're family."

Mad Dawg thought it over, then nodded.

"Sure, I can believe that." He conceded.

"Hey, how are things-" Leni began but stopped in surprise when she saw the van. The dents were smoothed out to the point you couldn't see them if you didn't know they were there, the blood was completely gone, and the windshield was gone, now leaned up against the wall.

"How did you…" She began.

"Well, the blood came out pretty well, but I'll need to wipe the whole van down, the cleaned look may raise some questions, as for the windshield, you're gonna need to replace it. Leave that to me." Mad Dawg explained, looking over the van. "Other than that, I'm gonna need to essentially air freshen this place so much it might increase the carbon emissions of the planet by five percent, but believe me, trying to get the smell of blood out of there will take a LOT."

"O..okay." Leni blinked, still unable to fully comprehend how well Mad Dawg had managed to fix their van.

"The windshield will raise questions, but all just say it was a deer or something, they won't question it." Mad Dawg finished, turning back to Leni.

"So, what's your plan now?" Lincoln asked.

"No idea." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Once I'm done here, I'll probably hit the road. My job here will be done."

Mad Dawg didn't expect anyone to say 'Do you have to go?', because… they didn't know him, and honestly, he was okay with that. He had… actually, scratch that. He didn't have any plans.

"Before you do, we were gonna order pizza." Leni remarked. "If you want, you can stay."

"I shouldn't." Mad Dawg shook his head.

"Look, after running you over and you fixing our van, I think it's the least we can do." Leni insisted.

"_Gonna be one of these days, ain't it?" _Mad Dawg thought. _"Go form fighting in a war to eating pizza within hours… Guess that's how it's gonna be." _

"Alright." Mad Dawg nodded. "Pizza sounds good."

**A.N. Welcome, one and all. To the Loud Dawg House! **

**Honestly, I have no idea why I chose The Loud House to be the follow up to Mad Dawg's first adventure, but who cares? This time, I actually have things planned out. Will Dawg get home? Will hijinks ensue? Will everything that can go wrong go wrong? **

**Yes. **


	2. Pizza Is The Solution To All Problems

Even though Lincoln had told Mad Dawg he had ten sisters, Dawg was still left in silenced shock as he saw the Loud Family. They certainly lived up to their name… He shook his head and cracked his neck as he followed Lincoln over to where some couches were.

"I gotta ask dude… How do you deal with this?" Dawg remarked. "Like… The bathroom has to be a nightmare."

"It is." Lincoln replied with a smirk. "You have _no _idea…"

"I'm guessing you guys don't have Indian food often?"

"Dude…"

"What? I'm just askin'!" Dawg laughed.

"Hey, Lincoln, who's your friend?"

Mad Dawg and Lincoln turned as saw one of Lincoln's sisters walk up, she had paler skin than the others and black hair covering her eyes.

"_Oh boy. My Chemical Romance fans…" _Mad Dawg thought.

"Hey Lucy. This is…" Lincoln began but trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"I'm Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg nodded. Lucy didn't reply, but looked to Lincoln as if silently asking 'Is this guy for real?'. Lincoln nodded in response.

"Huh." Was all Lucy said. "Where'd he come from?"

"He's uh… Luna's friend." Lincoln lied. "He was helping with the band."

"They wanted some concepts for album covers, I'm here to help." Mad Dawg added, picking up where Lincoln was going.

"Cool." Was all Lucy said before walking off.

"Is she always that happy?" Mad Dawg sarcastically asked.

"No, usually she's more monotone." Lincoln replied.

"She's like a mini female Reaper..." Mad Dawg muttered.

"Hey! New guy!" Luna shouted across the room. "What do you want on pizza?"

"Meat." Mad Dawg called back. "Pretty much anything but sardines, and vegetables."

"Alright."

Mad Dawg looked back out the window, taking in the quiet neighbourhood. Things seemed so calm and peaceful… man, he could get used to this.

Luna had just hung up the phone when she saw something. It was the messenger bag Mad Dawg had arrived with. She grimaced as she saw the stains of what she assumed (and hoped weren't) blood. She picked the bag up and took it outside, deciding to let it air out. Not noticing a portfolio slip out.

"This is gonna sound really weird, but… what year is it?" Mad Dawg finally asked, casting another glance over to Lincoln.

"Huh? Oh. It's uh… 2019." Lincoln replied, and seemed a bit confused when he saw Mad Dawg noticeably pale. "What's wrong?"

"If I only got sent back in time… then I'm sixty-one years in the past…" Mad Dawg muttered, looking down at his hands then back up at the neighbourhood again. A lot made sense now… He had remembered the last major event with the heroes before he… well, whatever happened to him. It was New Year's Eve, 2079, going on 2080. He was irresponsibly drinking despite being underage with McCree and some of the others.

"Hey Lincoln! Who's your buddy?" Came another voice snapping Mad Dawg out of it. The girl seemed a bit older than Lincoln, had braces and a plaid skirt.

"Luan, this is Mad Dawg." Lincoln introduced the newcomer to another sister.

"Your name… is Mad Dawg?" Luan repeated after a few moments of shocked silence.

"Yup." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Boy… seems like you had a _ruff _day!" Luan laughed. Lincoln groaned, but was surprised when Mad Dawg started laughing.

"Believe me. I couldn't even _paws _for a break!" He replied, and the two burst out laughing.

"_Fur_ real?"

"Believe me, I'm surprised I ain't in the _dog house!_" Mad Dawg laughed before suddenly pulling a stack of papers out from behind him, literally out of nowhere. "I've got pages of these, I can go on for a while."

"Okay, so letting you two meet was a mistake." Lincoln said aloud, both as a sort of statement and as a mental note to himself and anyone listening.

"Oh, c'mon Lincoln!" Mad Dawg grinned.

"Please don't."

"We were just raising the _roof!_" Luan finished, and the two kept laughing again. After a few more moments, Luan decided to go annoy her sisters while Dawg turned his attention b ack to the window, seemingly fixated on the neighbourhood.

"So… are you from the city or something?" Lincoln casually asked. "I've never seen anyone look at the neighbourhood like you do…"

"What? Oh. Uh… it's… it's a bit of a tale." Mad dawg said, coming down to reality. "And to be honest? I really doubt you'd believe me."

There was something in Mad Dawg's tone, maybe it was sadness or remorse… but to Lincoln, things were clear that whoever Mad Dawg was, or wherever he came from, or however he ended up crashing onto their van, there was a lot to unpack. Lincoln mentally noted that there was a pretty good chance he would never find out that story, and he was okay with that. But he had to admit… he was curious.

"_Didn't Dawg have a bag? Maybe that could explain things…" _Lincoln wondered.

"_Well, he doesn't seem like a monster." _Lori mused, watching 'Mad Dawg' and Lincoln's interactions. _"But he should be dead… Why isn't he? Okay. Not that I WANTED to kill anyone, but a regular human would've bled out… and he healed from it!" _

"WOO! PIZZA!" Luna suddenly shouted, getting everyone's attention. Mad Dawg got up to stretch for a second, and when he turned around, all the couches were full. Some of the girls who had met him seemed more interested in the pizza, and those who hadn't seemed a mixture of interested to somewhat nervous.

"Hey… Lori?" One of the younger girls finally asked. "Why's there a guy wearing one of mom's shirts?"

"Huh." Mad Dawg blinked, looking down at the shirt. "Uh… She can explain." He said, pointing to Lori then dashing off faster than anyone would've believed possible.

"Right. Uh, that's Kace." Lori sighed, setting her pizza down. "He's a friend of mine. Vanzilla was making some weird sounds, and he offered to take a look at it."

"He said his name was Mad Dawg." Luan replied, confused. "Where'd you get 'Kace' from?"

"His name's Mad Dog?! That's awesome!" One of the girls exclaimed. "Why didn't we get names like that!?"

"If I had to guess, 'Mad Dawg' would simply be a nickname." The smartest loud, Lisa, then spoke. "No one in their right mind would actually name their child 'Mad Dog'. That's just ridiculous."

"First of all, you don't know _anything_ about me." Mad Dawg spoke up, walking back into the room, now wearing a t-shirt and track shorts, with a hoodie tied around his waist.

"Hang on. Where'd you get those clothes?" Lori blinked, confused.

"Secondly, Mad Dawg is my name." Mad Dawg continued his tone wasn't one with an agitated edge some would expect, but more of a 'Oh boy, here we go again' type of tone. "And if you're wondering who gave it to me, the answer is simple: my family. And C, yoink!"

Mad Dawg finished his pointes by grabbing two slices of the meat lover's pizza and sitting down with his back against the window. The answer seemed to be enough for some of the Loud's, but it was clear Lisa wasn't fully buying it.

"Hey, what happened to your eye?" One of the girls asked.

"Lana!" Lori snapped, annoyed at the rather blunt question. She both didn't want to seem offensive to Dawg, but also had a feeling she didn't want to know how he got it.

"Which one?" Dawg chuckled, tracing four fingers across his face, all pointing to different scars. Some faded, and one still very clear.

"The one across your eye."

Mad Dawg rubbed the scar for a second. Remembering what had happened to him.

"_sEe FReaK? I'm aN aRtISt tOo!"_

_The distorted voice… the fake bodies... the trap he had walked into… _

_Shulk!_

_If Sombra hasn't pulled him back… he may have outright lost that eye... He didn't see that knife until it was too late… _

_It still hurt._ _Even after all this time, he still wasn't rid of Virus._

He looked to Lori as if asking for permission, and the look on her face was all Dawg needed to hear. Or see. Regardless, he got the message:

_Talk, and you'll have another scar to deal with. _

"It… it's personal." Mad Dawg replied with a slight frown. "I don't wanna talk about it."

While Lana seemed disappointed, she seemed to understand. Mad Dawg took another bite of pizza and looked around.

"So, I know some of your names." He admitted. "But some of you, I don't think we've met yet."

"I'm Lana!" The girl in overalls said cheerfully.

"I'm Lola." The girl dressed like a princess added.

"I'm Lynn Jr." A girl with a chipped tooth grinned.

"My name is Lisa." Lisa said in her somewhat dry tone.

"And that's Lily." Lincoln added, pointing to the baby playing with a ball nearby.

"Okay… Gimmie a sec. Mad Dawg said. "Lincoln, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn Jr., Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa and Lilly." He counted off the names on his hands then looked up in disbelief. "I mean… how do you guys live?"

"We eat, sleep and breathe." Lynn Jr. smirked.

"Sleep. That's something I haven't done in a long time…" Mad Dawg muttered. "No, but for real. How do you guys do it? One boy, ten girls?"

"Wouldn't trade it for the world." Lincoln replied matter-of-factly, getting some smiles from his sisters.

"Hey, if you can make it work, who am I to judge?" Mad Dawg shrugged, before finishing his second slice in a single bite.

"So, you're an only child I take it?" Leni asked.

"Heh. Not really… but kinda." Dawg shrugged, blinking a bit rapidly. "I don't have brothers or sisters by blood… but when I was crashing in Nashville, I lived with a pretty big group. There were… geez. Thirty-one of us, not including me."

"You lived in a house with thirty-one people?!" Lynn Jr. asked in disbelief.

"Nah, nah. Not a house." Mad Dawg corrected himself, stuttering slightly over the words. "More like… an apartment complex. It was a hostel-turned-complex, and I got to know them while I was staying with my aunt."

"Ah. Okay."

The group continued eating their food, Mad Dawg remained silent for a bit, listening to the others talk, and argue. He smiled, it reminded him of home. If he was gonna be stuck somewhere he didn't know, this was as good a place as any he guessed.

"_Wait. Where am I gonna sleep?" _Mad Dawg thought. _"Ah, whatever. I'll find a tree or something." _

After dinner, Mad Dawg nodded to Lori, and she paused but nodded back. As Mad Dawg got up to leave, he looked around for something.

"Hey, any of you seen a messenger bag? Has a neon Rasta-lion on it?"

"Oh yeah. I set it aside while you were working." Luna remembered. "Hang on a sec."

The pun rocker left for a moment while Dawg cracked his knuckles. He was tired, confused, potentially dead, but he had pizza. That made things slightly better.

Luna had picked up Dawg's bag, and grimaced again at the smell of blood that was still lingering around it. She saw that there was a lot of stuff in it, more than should've been possible… but it seemed to weigh practically nothing.

"Maybe I'm losing it." She muttered. Returning, she tossed Dawg his bag. "Catch!"

Dawg caught it with one hand and slung it over his shoulder in one fluent motion. Turning back to the Loud's he smiled and saluted.

"It was a pleasure meeting you all."

"You're leaving?!" Lana asked, disappointed.

"Yeah. This ain't my house, so… I ain't gonna try and insert myself here." Dawg shrugged. "I'll see you guys at a later time… or maybe not… I dunno!"

Dawg then left through the garage, closing the door behind him. The Loud's remained silent as they watched where Mad Dawg had gone.

"He's weird." Lola frowned.

"I like him! I can see why they call dog's man's best friend!" Luan joked.

"That joke doesn't even remotely make sense." Someone commented.

"I don't care. I'm with Luan." Lynn Jr. shrugged.

"I'm amazed you all believed him as much as you did." Lisa then spoke, her tone clearly one of someone who had thought things over.

"Which means…?" Lucy asked in her flat tone.

"Most of what he said were flat out lies." Lisa stated. "His body movement, his eyes jittery movements, his speech mistakes, he was lying almost the entire time."

"Hey, Lisa. You don't know that-" Lori began, not wanting to have to go too deep into how they _actually _found Mad Dawg.

"I understand that perhaps you have some reason for ignoring his lies, and as my older sister, I'll trust you on that." Lisa cut her off, looking to the oldest loud. "But I implore the rest of you to be wary of what he says. If the van was simply making strange noises, why was the windshield removed?"

"We hit a deer." Luna replied, her tone showing no signs of nervousness that Lori was struggling to withhold. "He was helping us with that."

"And you didn't take it to a mechanic because…?"

"He'd do it for free." Luna replied, a little agitated now. "Lisa, I'll be honest with you, you're _dead wrong_ okay? I know Mad Dawg, everything he's said is true."

"Wait. If you know him, how come you've never mentioned him before?" Lana asked confused.

"Sam introduced me to him." Luna quickly lied. "She knew him form a while ago, and she introduced me to him over video call. Then, he said he was coming down for the week and wanted to meet. We've known each other online for a few months."

Lisa didn't reply, but simply shrugged, seemingly accepting the answer. Everyone dispersed to do their own things, except for Lori, who stopped her younger sister.

"What was that about?" She hissed.

"What was what about?" Luna replied, annoyed.

"That whole story! Why were you lying for him!?"

"What did you want her to say? 'Hey everyone, this is Mad Dawg. We hit him with our car and yet somehow, he's alive!' because that would be so much better." Leni rolled her eyes, looking over to her sisters. "Look. I don't know _why _he isn't more pissed off that we literally ran him over, but I'm not gonna question it! He looks like he'd hang around with Sam and Luna, so what does it matter?!"

"Besides, he's gone." Luna frowned. "We may see him around town, or he may up and disappear."

"Yes… but…" Lori tried to think of a counter-argument before sighing. "All right, I guess you're right…"

"I don't see why you're so paranoid of him. He seemed like a nice guy." Leni remarked. "Again, _we hit him with our van and broke most of the bones in his body _but he just asks for a shower and some food in response after fixing our van."

Lori didn't have anything else to say, she just sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I know. It's just…"

"The healing thing?"

"YES!" She exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Lincoln had opened the backdoor to let Charles in, and notices something on the back step. Picking it up he turned over the portfolio and looked at what was written on the cover.

_Project: Crimson Horizons _

_Test Subject Codename: Beta-576 (A.K.A. 'Mad Dawg' _was drawn on in what Lincoln believed was crayon.)

_Status: __Terminated__, Alive _(again, crayon.)

_Subject Files: Classified_

"Wait… what?" Lincoln blinked in confusion. He looked into the house and saw that Mad Dawg was long gone. He frowned as he looked at the portfolio again, debating if he should try and track Mad Dawg down.

"I… guess he'll be back once he realizes it's gone." Lincoln slowly rationalized. Making sure there was nothing else left behind before slipping back into the house.

Mad Dawg sighed contently, he had found a sizable tree and was currently resting in the branches. There were two that branched (ba dum tiss) off form the main trunk, forming a weird sort of 'U', what was ideal for resting in. Mad Dawg didn't have to worry about slipping and falling out of the tree, and had put one of his legs on one of the branches and let the other dangle. He had hung his bag on another branch and was enjoying the cool night breeze, finally feeling like he could breathe for the first time in… ages.

"_Okay, let's recount this real quick." _He thought. _"Both for my sake, and those that didn't read the first story. So, I was in Talon's base, we were kicking all the ass, then I blew myself up. Smart move. Then, I woke up here."_

After a few moments, Mad Dawg finally spoke aloud:

"That was actually kind of pointless…"

He cast a glance up to his bag. He hadn't checked what came with him, and he began to reach for it, then waved his hand dismissively.

"_Whatever." _He shrugged, resting his hands behind his head._ "I can deal with my bizarre adventures tomorrow. Right now… I need some sleep!" _

And so, with the cool summer breeze rustling the leaves ever so slightly, and an owl nearby occasionally breaking the otherwise still night, Mad Dawg fell asleep. And for the first time in as long as he could ever remember, he slept peacefully.

Lincoln was reading some comics he had picked up earlier, and finished the last one. Setting it back in the bag, he looked over at the folder Dawg had accidentally left behind.

"_I shouldn't…_" He frowned, debating if he should read it or not. _"But… after what I saw him do…"_

He looked at the folder again, guessing this was either a bunch of nonsense Dawg had written, possible for some role-playing campaign, or this was about him.

"_It's not like he'd notice if I had a look." _

Slowly, Lincoln opened the folder, seeing dozens of papers attached, along with what he assumed were newspaper articles and pictures. He flipped through a few pages, and his eyes widened in disbelief at what he was reading…

_Day 33_

_Subject: Beta-576_

Codename: _Amug Un Rama_

_The subject's body is growing according to schedule, and its body seems to be adapting to the spliced genetics we've added. However, we are still unsure if it will succeed, but you learn from your failures, not your successes. There's still the matter of the potential final adjustments, but I'll have to consider all possibilities for this experiment, and others to come, they've offered us financial support beyond what we could ever imagine. The breakthroughs we could make would change the world, but the request they've made is rather... strange. _

Lincoln flipped a few pages ahead, finding another report.

_Day 79_

_The subject is awake now. It seems to have a basic understanding of the world around it, it seems to have the brain of a young child. Jackson and I have agreed to go ahead with the requests made for this subject. While some would call it weaponization, I prefer to call it what by what it really is. A potential revelation that could change the scientific world as we know it. _

"_What does any of this have to do with Mad Dawg?!" _Lincoln mentally exclaimed. He knew he should stop, he shouldn't keep reading… then he noticed something sticking out from the back. Pulling a picture out, there was a shot of Mad Dawg, along with a man who seemed like he came out of an old west film, a guy who seemed like a roller-blading dj, a man with his hair on fire, and a few others. He flipped back to the entry he had read, and saw there was another note written below it:

_Oh, that's BULLS**T! This wasn't about making breakthroughs, this was about making weapons! How are you so far up yourself that you can't see that!? You gutted me and made me into a monster! _

"His healing ability… he _is _a mutant." Lincoln said to himself. Admittedly, he thought Dawg was kind of crazy when he told him he was a mutant from the future or another dimension, but seeing this… It made it harder to deny that Dawg was at least partially telling the truth.

Lincoln slammed the folder shut and shoved it under his mattress. He had a feeling if he kept reading, he'd find something he didn't want to.

"_I'll try and find Dawg tomorrow, maybe he can explain…" _Lincoln mused, casting a glance out the window.

**Chapter 2 is done! If you haven't read any of my other stories, don't worry. There's gonna be a bit of an exposition dump soon. Dawg kinda has a bad habit of not telling the truth… but the truth may not be his to tell. Come back soon and see what happens!**


	3. Dark Secrets And A New Life (For Real)

**So, I seemed to have uploaded the wrong chapter… my bad. Also, if you don't know Mad Dawg, this chapter should help. **

The wind rushed by his face as Mad Dawg traversed the town's rooftops. Every time his feet hit the rooftop, he picked up speed again, before launching himself off of the edge of the roof and onto the next building. He felt… Alive! Okay, sure. Dawg was pretty sure he hadn't died in the explosion, but there was something liberating about his rooftop run.

"Woo!" He yelled as he jumped headfirst off of a rooftop, doing a front flip before rolling onto the next roof. Jumping up, he skidded to a stop and began to catch his breath.

About three days had passed since Mad Dawg had found himself in this new world, and he had picked up on a few things; first of all, he was in a town called Royal Woods, and…

"I have no idea who I'm gonna get home…" Mad Dawg blinked, sighing deeply and sitting on the rooftop and letting his legs hang over the edge.

On the one hand, Royal Woods was a nice place, it was calm, peaceful, there wasn't a terrorist attack every few days he had to deal with… But on the other hand, it had none of the technology he was used to. Which meant he had no way to build some of the devices he kept on him in case of an emergency, as well as having no way of contacting anyone he knew. Then again, he doubted he would've been able to contact them but whatever. Watching the people below go about their day, Mad Dawg began to question his plan of attack from here on out. It didn't seem like he needed to fight to save the world again, so did that mean he could live a normal life? Buy a home, get a job, get invested in medical dramas, and live out his life?

"_Do I even deserve that?" _Mad Dawg thought, a slight frown forming on his face. _"After all I've said and done… Can I really just- No. Y'know what? Forget it. Keep moving, just keep moving." _

Standing up, Mad Dawg bounced on the spot before continuing his traversal of the skyline. He noticed every now and then someone would be watching in shock or surprise, and he'd flash them a smile and keep on going. Running alongside a billboard, Dawg launched himself off of the giant advertisement and soared a bit longer than he intended. The world slowed around him, and he could hear his heartbeat, until he landed on the next rooftop. Eventually he came to the end of the buildings, and Mad Dawg stopped again.

Then jumped off of the side.

Landing with a resounding _Crack!_ On the sidewalk, feeling the shake of his bones and electrical jolt shoot through his muscles. He took a sharp breath inwards, then stood up, feeling his body healing itself.

"Excuse me! Are you okay!?" Someone asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm good." Mad dawg said, giving them a thumbs-up. That was something else he had learned; random adrenaline-fueled stunts weren't seen as 'normal' but 'suicidal' and 'illegal'. But was that going to stop Mad Dawg? No.

Shaking his leg to get feeling in it again, Mad Dawg walked through the large doors welcoming him to the Royal Woods mall. Something Mad Dawg had quickly picked up on was that he needed more than the clothes he had stolen form some random clothesline, and was here to do that.

But then he noticed a smoothie bar and decided that was more important.

Also, in the food court was Lincoln and his best friend Clyde, the two had been there to talk comics and other things, but something Lincoln brought up had taken precedence.

"So… this Angry Dog is some sort of mutant creature?" Clyde asked again, not believing his friend's story.

"It's 'Mad Dawg' and yeah. I believe so." Lincoln corrected. "I was reading this folder he left behind-"

"Whoa. That's a massive breach of someone's privacy." Clyde said, matter-of-factly.

"I know, I know. He was just acting so weird, I wanted to know what his deal was… and I think he's some sort of lab experiment gone horribly wrong. And then he joined a team of heroes and saved the world-"

"Stop. Just stop." Clyde shook his head. "This sounds like some sort of weird Ace Savvy fanfic! Are you okay? Did Lynn Jr. tackle you and smack your heard off the ground really hard again?"

"Clyde, I know this sounds crazy, but I'm not making this up!"

"Sure, sounds like you are." Clyde replied flatly. "I mean, you said this guy hung around your house for a night then jetted, how do you know he wasn't lying? And that folder you found was some sort of super-complex roleplaying book? I mean, the idea of him being able to heal is awesome, but there's no way that someone could actually have that power. He can't exist!" Lincoln wasn't paying attention and was now looking at something over Clyde's shoulder. "Linc? Linc?"

"Wanna meet someone who doesn't exist?" Lincoln replied in a smug tone.

"What are you talking ab-"

"Yo! Dawg!" Lincoln called, waving to someone. Mad Dawg looked around confused, then his eyes widened when he saw Lincoln.

"Hey, Loud-Dude!" He laughed, walking over and sitting on a chair on the table over from where the two were. "What's going on?"

"Oh, well, my fiend Clyde doesn't believe you exist." Lincoln said with a smirk, as Clyde blinked in disbelief. He wanted to say something, but Mad Dawg suddenly got directly in his face, his yellow eyes boring into Clyde's, making the boy rather nervous.

"Hi." Mad Dawg finally said. "I'm Mad Dawg."

"Uh… I… I'm Clyde… C..Clyde McBride…" Clyde stammered out. There was silence for a few moments until Mad Dawg asked:

"Should I back up?"

"Please do."

"Okay." Mad Dawg nodded, sitting back in his seat, and grinning at Lincoln who was trying to supress laughter.

"Still think he isn't real?" Lincoln asked.

"Uh… no… he's real…" Clyde blinked.

"Hey, sorry about that Clyde." Mad Dawg laughed. "Let me start over. I'm Mad Dawg, an asshole."

That did get a laugh from Clyde, who extended his hand out, and Mad Dawg shook it.

"Hey, where have you been?" Lincoln asked. "You just took off after we had pizza, and no one's seen you since."

"Dude, I fixed your sister's car. We're not like, best friends or anything." Mad Dawg answered, his tone and face a mixture of confusion and bewilderment. "I've been… hanging around, y'know. Living life."

"I haven't seen you at school though." Lincoln mused.

"I take online courses."

"Ah, that answers that." Lincoln conceded. He paused for a minute, unsure of how to bring up the file, so he decided not to. At least, not right now.

"Ugh… this smoothie ain't that good." Mad Dawg muttered, taking another sip form the drink. He looked around, then opened his bag and pulled out a flask, he poured some of the liquid into the smoothie, then hid his flask again.

"That's better." He sighed, taking another sip.

"…uh… this may seem weird, but… how old are you?" Clyde finally asked as he and Lincoln watched in shock.

"Huh? Oh, I'm like, somewhere like fifteen to seventeen." Mad dawg shrugged.

"First of all, that's illegal." Clyde said, pointing to the alcoholic smoothie. "Second of all, how do you not know your age?!"

"It's a long, long, _long _story." Mad Dawg sighed, rubbing his face before suddenly turning and looking at… someone. "And kids, don't do this at home."

Lincoln blinked and looked to where Mad Dawg was looking, knowing who Dawg was taking to, and was shocked that he wasn't the only one who could do that.

"Hey, Mad Dawg?" Lincoln spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Listen… that thing you can do…" Lincoln began, and noticed Mad Dawg's eyes shoot open when he said 'thing', realizing what he was getting at. "Can you show Clyde? He doesn't believe me."

"…So, you're just telling everyone you mean about me?" Mad Dawg asked, his eyes narrowing somewhat.

"What? No! Just Clyde. He asked what happened to the van, and…" Lincoln trailed off, fearing what the vagabond teen may be capable of. After all, his sister had hit him with a van, and he got back up in a matter of moments. That was kind of a good indication that Mad Dawg could probably hurt them if he wanted to.

"Come with me." Mad Dawg finally said, his voice emotionless. Without waiting for a response, Mad Dawg got up and headed in a seemingly random direction.

"He's going to mug us." Clyde said, fear creeping into his voice.

"No, he won't." Lincoln rolled his eyes, knowing his friend's paranoia could get the better of him.

"He's going to kill us."

"Clyde, calm down."

"He's gonna knock us out, then we're gonna wake up in tubs of ice with our organs gone."

"Dude, I haven't done that to someone in a few years." Mad Dawg said, rolling his eyes. "You coming or not?"

"C'mon McBride." Lincoln smirked, pulling his friend out of the chair. "You said you didn't believe he existed."

"And you've proven me wrong! Lincoln, this is a bad idea!" Clyde protested. This persisted until the three were outside in the back corner of the parking lot. There weren't any cars and it was clear that it hadn't been maintained too well. Mad Dawg turned around and rolled up his hoodie sleeve.

"This is gonna end badly…"

"Geez, he still whimperin'?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Hey, take it easy on him." Lincoln said defensively.

"A'right, my bad." Mad Dawg said, holding his hands up. "So, Clyde? Was it?"

"Yeah." Clyde nodded, managing to steady his nerves somewhat.

"I'm only going to say this once, and I'm not joking when I say this. This stays between us three. I don't care who you think you can trust, this is for our eyes only, at least for now. Can I trust you on that?"

"Why are you trusting me?" Clyde asked skeptically. "We met like, five minutes ago."

"Because Lincoln's seen what I'm going to show you. I trust Lincoln, and if Lincoln vouches for you, then I'll trust you." Mad Dawg explained.

"Alright…" Clyde said, steadying his nerves. "Okay, yeah. Between us three."

"Okay. Let me begin by saying, I'm what some may call a 'mutant'." Mad Dawg slowly explained. "I have a genetic ability to heal extremely fast."

Mad Dawg paused, making sure Clyde was following, and he was, albeit skeptically.

"How do you wanna see this? Slice or stab?" Mad Dawg asked the two.

"…what?" Was collective said aloud.

"Slice. Or. Stab." Mad Dawg said, emphasizing each word. "How do you want to do this?"

"I told you he was gonna kill us…" Clyde whispered, fear clearly taking over now.

"Uh, stab?" Lincoln finally said after thinking it over.

"Okay."

Without warning, Mad Dawg pulled a knife out from a sheath hidden under his pantleg, and drove the blade clean through his hand. There was a sickening crunching sound, and Mad Dawg held his hand up, now with a knife going clean through it. Clyde wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the breath to do so, and Lincoln felt like he needed to run, but either morbid curiosity or his body being frozen in fear, he remained where he was.

"Wow. Yeah, that hurts. That hurts like hell." Mad Dawg said, wincing in pain. He then ripped the blade out of his hand, showing the hole that went clean through his hand, bits of muscle and bone visible, all coated in blood. Then, to both boys' shock (although Lincoln had seen this before but was still amazed.) his hand began to heal, it seemed like tendon and bone was self-repairing, reconnecting the bits that were destroyed, before the skin on his hand grew over the wound, making it seem as if it had never happened.

"There ya go." Mad Dawg shrugged.

"H..h…h…how..?" Clyde stammered out.

"Like I said, long story, but technically, I'm a mutant." Mad Dawg replied. He held his hand out and the two inspected it, not seeing any wound or scar where the gaping hole had been a few moments ago.

"Wow." Clyde said quietly. All fear gone, now replaced with awe and curiosity. "Do your sisters know about this?"

"Just Luna, Leni and Lori." Lincoln answered, finding his voice again. "They saw it happen after we hit him with our van."

"Wait. You what?!" Clyde exclaimed in surprise. "You did _NOT _mention that!"

"Well, it was more like I fell on their van then they hit me… But both parties agreed it was mutually beneficial to shut up about it." Mad Dawg replied, filling in the gaps.

Clyde was honestly fascinated by what he had just seen. Heck, if he was honest, he was really curious about Mad Dawg himself, then without thinking about what he was saying, aksed; "Hey, Linc. What else did that folder say about him?"

"Folder?" Mad Dawg said, his face draining of all colour, and an icy chill began paralyzing his spine. Lincoln's face seemed to drain of colour as well. "What. Folder?"

"You said you found…" Clyde began, but realized he probably shouldn't be talking. Before either boy could react, Mad Dawg had grabbed Lincoln and slammed him into the wall. His body language now one of absolute rage.

"WHAT FOLDER!?" Mad Dawg demanded, his eyes turning blood-red.

"You left behind a folder when you fixed our car!" Lincoln managed to get out. "I was trying to find you to bring it back!"

"Did you read it?" Mad Dawg seethed, the anger clearly rising.

"A..a little… something about the project waking up… growing a body… but that's all! I swear! I shouldn't have read it! I'm sorry!"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

Mad Dawg let go of Lincoln and fell to his knees while the white-haired boy gasping for breath. When he looked back at Mad Dawg, he didn't see anger. He saw absolute, complete fear. His eyes conveyed terror, his body was shaking uncontrollably, it seemed like the fear of someone who had seen a thousand wars.

"_NeVEr FoRGEt… NEvEr fORgIVE…" _A voice echoed through his head.

"Dawg? Dawg, you okay?" Lincoln asked, waving his hand in front of the teen's face.

"Linc, what did you do to him?" Clyde asked nervously.

Before Lincoln could reply, he heard Mad Dawg's stilted breathing. Looking at him, Mad Dawg's hands were shaking, and tears were filling his eyes.

"I'm so sorry man… I didn't mean to…" He whispered.

"Hey, Dawg… it's okay." Lincoln finally said. "I made a mistake, I shouldn't've read it. But you were gone, and I didn't know how to contact you, I guess maybe I thought it would have your number or something… but, look. I'm really sorry."

Mad Dawg took a few moments to steady his breathing. He picked himself back up and cracked his neck.

"So am I." He replied. "I shouldn't've done that." He turned to Clyde and added: "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"But I think you need to come with us, I think we need to talk…"

Clyde nodded wordlessly, realizing there was a lot more going on than he had initially expected. The trio got up and headed towards the Loud House. Before they go there though, Mad Dawg diverted them towards a park, then towards a tree. Effortlessly, he climbed up before helping Clyde and Lincoln up.

"Welcome to my home." Mad Dawg said with a sarcastic shrug.

"Wait, you said-" Clyde began.

"I lied." Mad Dawg cut him off. "Get comfortable boys, this story is gonna take a bit. Opening his bag, he took out three cans of Phoenix energy and handed them around.

"So… Here's the truth." Mad Dawg began with a sigh. "I'm a mutant."

"That much is clear." Lincoln nodded.

"Also, full disclosure, everything I'm about to say is true. I barely know you guys, but I'm telling you this because, well, we gotta get the story rolling. That and I'm pretty sure there won't be any negative repercussions." Mad Dawg said very seriously. "The truth is, I shouldn't _exist._ Originally, I was designed to be a living cure, a pharmaceutical super cure that would allow dead and dying cells to rejuvenate their host."

"It was like a man-made fountain of youth?" Clyde asked.

"Eh… kind of? But not really." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Regardless, things didn't go as planned. It turned out that the cure was _so _successful that it kept making new cells, and that formed my body."

"The journal entry said something like 'the subject's body was forming unnaturally fast'. But I have no idea what that means." Lincoln remarked.

"Well, the people making me were approached by a group called Talon. They're a terrorist organization whose whole deal is to control the world through fear, believing the strong lead and live, the weak serve and die. Effectively, they offered them a crap ton of money if they took me, and turned me into a damn weapon."

The two boys blinked, and looked to one another in shock, unsure if they should say this story was false or not. After all, they _had _seen Mad Dawg stab himself then heal.

"They did." Mad Dawg scowled. "They gutted me, then put me back together… it was a nightmare. The original plan was to wire my brain to respond to their demands and orders, but before that happened, I escaped. Don't ask how. I don't remember. Anyhow, I got a spike of metal through my skull and it shredded my brain, but also destroyed the control devices they had installed. For about eleven years, I lived on the streets. I had no memories, no identity, and a healing factor that kept me ticking. I was taken in by a hacktivist group, and they were the closest thing to family I had for a while."

"Okay, what happened to them?" Clyde slowly asked.

"That's personal, I don't wanna go into that." Mad Dawg answered.

"That's fair."

"Anyhow, we ended up going own ways after a bit, and I returned to my drifter lifestyle." Mad Dawg continued, casting a glance up at the calm sky. It was still, it seemed like nature itself wanted to hear his story. "So, blah, blah, blah, bunch of my own adventures, and eventually, my past catches up with me. Only I didn't know it was my past."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I should've worded that better." Mad Dawg admitted. "So, I'm at a party, having a great time, and eventually I pass out. Or was knocked out, I don't remember. I end up waking up in one of Talon's bases."

"Were they tracking you all those years? Why didn't they act sooner?" Lincoln asked with a raised brow. Mad Dawg took a sip of his drink then answered.

"They thought I was dead. They didn't know if I was the escaped test subject. Regardless, I had to get the heck outta dodge, thankfully, I get sprung by this group called Overwatch."

"Overwatch?" The boys said in confusion.

"They're a world-wide peacekeeping organization." Mad Dawg replied. "They and Talon had been fighting for ages. So… I get sprung, then I decide to throw my towel in with Overwatch. Things are fun, there's some good, some bad… then I find out about my past."

Mad Dawg frowned darkly as he remembered something.

"You said you had no memories; did you not know where you had come from?" Clyde asked.

"My brain was _impaled and shredded on rusted steel_." Mad Dawg said, his eye twitching. "I should've _died._ But I didn't."

"Geez… sorry…"

"For what? It's a fair question." Mad Dawg replied with a slight shrug. "But… yeah. I found out the people I had been fighting against for so long, we actually the ones who made me. This crazy bitch named Moira O'Deorain was… for lack of a better term, my mom. She had been the leader of the project, and I was created in part with some of her blood. So, yeah. Things got awkward."

"I bet thanksgiving got weird." Lincoln joked, trying to make light of what was happening.

"You have _NO _idea!" Mad Dawg laughed. "But, eventually I decided things had to end. We had one final showdown, and I decided that the head of Talon, this giant of a man named Akande, had to go."

"Wait. You've _killed _someone!?" Clyde suddenly exclaimed, nearly falling out of the tree in shock until Mad Dawg grabbed him and re-balanced him.

"_I've killed a lot." _Mad Dawg thought.

"Look, he was a man who would slaughter entire cities just to prove a point, I believed as long as he and I were alive, people were in danger." Mad Dawg explained. "If I was alive, the genetic blocks to make another me still existed. So, in the final showdown, I decided to take us both out with one explosion."

"So, you tried to kill yourself?" Lincoln asked, genuinely taken aback by what Mad Dawg had just said.

"Eh, fifty-fifty." Mad Dawg mused. "I didn't care too much if I lived or died, if Akande wasn't stopped, thousands, if not millions, would die."

A quiet break followed, as the three sat up in the tree, drinking energy drinks and thinking it over. Mad Dawg was back to looking up at the sky, while the two boys were thinking it over.

"You don't believe me." Mad Dawg said, looking down flatly at the two boys.

"Well…" Clyde began, unsure of what to say. "I mean… You stabbed yourself, and you healed."

Mad Dawg wasn't paying attention, he was looking through his bag for something, he pulled a tablet out and slung his bag back over a branch. He tapped the screen a bit, then passed the tablet to Lincoln.

"Here." He remarked.

The two watched what seemed like security camera recordings. Mad Dawg was shown standing in an odd room. Next to him was the man with fiery hair, a giant gorilla a cyborg ninja, and a woman with what looked like a fire extinguisher on her back.

"_Running Training Protocol 7-E2." _A voice was heard.

"_Ready Dawg?" _The fire-haired man asked.

"_Let's go!" _Mad Dawg exclaimed as a number of robots came out from behind a door. The woman with the fire extinguisher fired a blast onto the ground in front of where Mad Dawg and the cyber ninja were running, and shockingly, the ground froze. Mad Dawg was currently skating across the floor before jumping and flipping over the first robot, grabbing it by its head, and throwing it into a wall. The gorilla seemed to be holding some sort of electrical gun, and was zapping robots with energy blasts.

"Whoa… what is this?" Lincoln finally got out.

"Like I said, they're Overwatch." Mad Dawg answered.

"So when you said you lived with like, thirty people a few days ago-"

"This is what I was talking about, yeah." Mad Dawg nodded. "Look, if you still don't believe me. I don't know what to say to you."

Swiping through a few images and videos, the boys watched a mixture of training videos, and Mad Dawg drinking with a group of his friends.

"I'll be honest Dawg, I don't like it, I don't understand it, but I'll accept it." Clyde finally said.

"Story of my life." Dawg remarked, before looking to Lincoln. "I need that folder back."

"Yeah, yeah. Of course." Lincoln nodded. "Is there a place I can drop it off or-"

"I'm going with you." Mad Dawg cut him off. "I need to make sure everything's there."

"Yeah. That makes sense." Lincoln admitted.

The three made their way back towards Lincoln's, the two younger boys occasionally asking questions, which Mad Dawg tried his best to answer. Both of them wouldn't say they didn't believe him, but there was something so bizarre about his adventures that he talked about. But, no matter what they wanted to believe, they had seen his healing ability, and Lincoln had read some of the folder describing his creation. There was just too much evidence to prove he was telling the truth.

As for Mad Dawg, normally he'd question why he was telling someone all this, heck. It took him way, way, WAY too long to open up to the people he considered 'family' about his past. But now? Maybe it's because he had presumably died, maybe it was because he was sick and tired of the red tape covering everything, or maybe he trusted Lincoln. It occurred to Mad Dawg he had no real reason to trust the Loud, but he had seemed relatively sane and willing to keep his past under wraps. Sure, he had kind of, totally, completely violated his privacy, but… hey, plot convivences. The story has to get going somehow, am I right?

It only took about two minutes to return home, and Mad Dawg felt honestly kind of awkward. But he didn't care at this point, he needed to get his folder, then head out.

"Hey Mom!" Lincoln waved as he, Clyde and Mad dawg walked past an older woman who was working in the kitchen.

"Oh, hi Lincoln, who's your friend?" She asked, turning and looking at Mad Dawg. In response, Mad Dawg's eyes darted around nervously.

"He's a friend of Luna." Lincoln answered. "He was… he was helping her write some new lyrics and forget them here the other day."

"Smooth." Mad Dawg muttered. Not noticing Lincoln and Clyde had kept walking, leaving Mad Dawg alone with the matriarch, who now gave him a concering look. It was clear from the noticeable scars on his arms and the one across his eye that she thought something was wrong.

"What did you say your name was?" She asked.

"Kace, Kace Horatio Teller." Mad Dawg replied. "Ma'm."

"Right, Kace." The woman began. "I haven't met you before, and I try not to judge people based on their looks, but… I don't want you getting Luna into _anything _that will hurt her, understand?"

Mad Dawg blinked in confusion, genuinely having no idea what she was getting at, before he noticed she was looking at the scars on his arm and something clicked in his mind.

"You think I'm some sort of gang-bangin' junkie?" He asked, ludicrously bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Rita blinked.

"You think I'm some meth-fueled gang scrapper?" Mad Dawg asked, still in a very agitated tone.

"I wouldn't say that, but-"

"I'm ex-military!" Mad Dawg spoke up suddenly. Okay, so that was kind of a lie, but… it was close enough to the truth. He didn't really feel like explaining his whole backstory again, at least not right now.

Rita Loud's eyes widened in shock, both at his accusational question, and in realization that she had this all wrong.

"These scars and crap? I got em being _shot at with assault rifles. _Not shooting up unicorn juice from a needle in some filthy stained alleyway. I look like this because I haven't slept properly in nearly three years."

"Kace, I… I'm sorry." She quickly apologized. "I…"

"Eh, don't blame yourself." Mad Dawg shook his head, trying to smooth things over, quickly putting a lid on his frustration. "I get it, I look like some sorta teenage stitchpunk freak. But I'm not a junkie. Full disclosure, I only met Luna for the first time in person like, five days ago. Until then, it was entirely though video chats."

"This may seem like an odd question, but how old are you?" Rita asked.

"Fifteen, sixteen-ish?" Mad Dawg replied. "And before you ask, yes, the military doesn't tend to bring people this young into service, but I was still in training when this all went down."

Again, that wasn't entirely true. A number of his wounds across his chest _had _come from guns… but they were shotguns being wielded by a supreme lord of the edge. As well as when he had his heart surgically removed, was stabbed, shot, impaled-

"_How am I still alive?!" _Mad Dawg mentally screamed.

But that was beside the point. Mad Dawg also realized it was no longer the two of them in the room, as a few of Lincoln's sisters had come to say hi to him, and judging from their expressions, had heard more than enough.

"Mutha-" Mad Dawg groaned but cut himself off. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough." One of the Loud's finally said.

Mad Dawg groaned, rubbing his face. This wasn't going as he planned, he wasn't sure he could improvise an entire story long enough to get him out of this one.

"Hey, Dawg? I got your-" Lincoln called, walking abck into the room, only to see the shocked looks he was getting. "Well this isn't good…"

"What's your plan Linc?" Clyde whispered.

"I don't have one." He whispered back. "You think I have a plan for any of this?!"

Mad Dawg however, had decided to do something, really, really stupid.

"SMOKEBOMB!" He yelled, pretending to throw something on the ground. He was prepared to run, but only about half the people present reacted the way he hoped. "Crap…"

As Mad Dawg was about to apologize, or cut and run, he heard a running in his ears. The high-pitched whine disoriented him and made him briefly gasp for breath. When he looked up, he could see a figure standing behind Lincoln and Clyde. The figure tilted its head and held up a hand, creepily waving to Mad Dawg. His vision began to blur, and the world seemed to tilt back and forth.

"Kace?" Rita asked concerned, seeing his body language shift almost violently.

"What the hell is happening to me?" Mad Dawg whispered, looking back up, only to see the figure gone, and a blackish form begin to take shape. Creepily, it seemed to be hanging from the ceiling.

"yA knOW WhAt ThE bEsT paRt oF dEAth iS, frEAk?" A voice suddenly sounded in his head. Mad Dawg looked around frantically, the world seeming to fade away. "YoU'Ll nEVeR bE rId oF mE!"

Mad Dawg blinked, his blood running cold as he saw the deformed face of Virus apparated in front of him. Part of his mask was still melted onto his face, and the rest was a twisted amalgamation of burns and well… lack of face.

"No." Mad Dawg whispered. "I'm done with you, Virus. I moved on, I'll never be clean of what I did, but I'm not afraid of you! Overwatch helped me, I'm different, I atoned for what I did-"

"FEaR hAs NoTHinG tO Do wiTH ThIs, DaWg." Virus spoke in his broken, digitally distorted and now somewhat raspy voice. "aNd hERe, YOu cAn lIE tO a WHolE nEW gRouP!"

_Shplort_

Looking down, Mad Dawg saw the wound across his gut had re-opened, blood beginning to seep out. Knowing he had to get outta dodge, Mad Dawg tried to run forward. But… his body felt numb, and as he fell forward, everything went black.

It could've been a few hours or a few minutes, but Mad Dawg groaned as he woke up, looking around, seeing he was lying on a couch. He didn't care if anyone was watching, he lifted up his shirt, only to see no wound…

"…clearly suffering from some sort of psychotic break, or post-traumatic stress disorder." He could finality hear Lisa talking. "But there was no clear trigger for his attack…"

"_What was Virus doing here?" _Mad Dawg thought. _"I moved on, I put that behind me, how did he… That… was that just a dream? I haven't had those kinda day-mares since I accidentally took those Blue Star plants."_

"Kace, are you alright dear?" Rita asked, suddenly appearing next to him.

"What happened?" Mad Dawg muttered, still disoriented.

"You were standing there, then you looked around and then seemed to act as if you had been attacked, then passed out."

Mad Dawg looked at his hands, then swung his legs back over so they were on solid ground. He saw clearly most of the Louds were watching, equal parts concerned for both his safety, and their own.

"_He's right though." _Mad Dawg had to admit. _"I can't tell them the truth, I have to-" _

"_What are you thinking you idiot?!" _Mad Dawg suddenly mentally yelled at himself. _"Do you not remember what happened LAST time you tried to protect your friends?! We pissed away half a story, and the authors mental state to try and make this lone-wolf edge-lord adventure! Didn't you learn ANYHTING?! If you keep hiding the past, it'll be found out one way or another. You can run from this, or you can man up and learn from it." _

"I'm not human." Mad Dawg suddenly said, matter-of-factly. "And I'm not Luna's friend either."

"Eh, that's debatable." The punk-rocker remarked.

"Okay, I'm not her friend in the way I claimed I was." Mad Dawg corrected himself. "The truth is, I don't belong here."

There was a confused silence until Lynn Jr. finally broke it.

"What the heck are you talking about? Are you form like, Russia or something?"

"Long story short, I'm from either the future or another dimension." Mad Dawg decided to answer bluntly. "And in that time line, I'm a mutant, the only one in existence."

Upon hearing the stifled laughs of disbelief, Mad Dawg turned to Rita.

"Sorry about the rug." He remarked.

"What?"

Without warning, Mad Dawg pulled the knife he had used earlier out and slashed a long cut down his arm, ripping the knife out and leaving a deep potentially lethal wound on his arm. There were horrified cries of shock and disgust, and Lola passed out.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Lisa shouted in disbelief.

"No." Mad Dawg calmly answered, and just like before, the long cut slowly closed up, not even leaving a scar behind.

"That… that's not…" Lisa then stammered, for once not being able to think of any reason behind what had happened. "That's not scientifically… but… I…"

"Like I said. Mutant." Mad Dawg replied, turning his arm over and showing that it was completely fine. "Now… I know you all have questions, so I'm gonna answer them one at a time, who wants to go-"

Immediately, all the hands in the room shot up.

"Aw, damn it." Mad Dawg muttered.

For the next hour or so, Mad Dawg did what he could to give answers to questions asked about him. He steered clear from _anything _about his creation, and was kind of hoping he could avoid talking about his blackout, but then Luna finally asked the one question he was dreading:

"Who's Virus?"

"Huh?" Mad dawg blinked, taken out of his thoughts at the question.

"Before you passed out, you said something like… 'I'm done with you, Virus. I've moved on.' Then you seemed to have a spaz attack and passed out."

Mad Dawg took a deep breath, then finally answered.

"Those of you who don't like disturbing stories may wanna leave the room for a few minutes."

Everyone looked to one another, but no one (not even Lola, who had finally been revived) made a move to leave. Their curiosity now keeping them where they were

"Virus was someone I knew, and he… he hated me." Mad Dawg began, frowning. "He was this… I think he was a Dj, I don't know. I had no real idea who he was until he started coming after me. The truth is, I did something really, really bad." Mad Dawg said aloud, not caring who heard him. "I was trying to help people… and it caused a whole lotta damage. A lot of innocents died, because I tried to be the good guy."

The shocked gasps and steps taken back didn't concern Mad Dawg. Heck, he would've been concerned if they _weren't _freaked out.

"What happened?" Luan asked, absentmindedly, it occurring right after she probably shouldn't've.

"Luan!" Rite snapped, shocked and clearly angered by the question. If that wasn't enough, the look of pure loathing Mad Dawg shot her was enough to get the message across clear. "Uh, sorry."

"Virus' sister died, or she offed herself. I don't know." Mad Dawg continued solemnly, shaking this head. "There were nearly seventy people who died because of what I did… and Virus blamed it entirely on me. Years later, he finally found me."

Mad Dawg paused, catching his breath for a second, his hand shaking uncharacteristically.

"I was trying to figure out something, and it led me to where he was. He had set up this entire apartment building to be a giant torture room. He left reminders, mannequins being torn apart, video and audio of the victims… he wanted me to feel the pain I had caused him, and so many others."

"Oh my…" Lucy blinked form behind her hair. This seeming more metal and darker than any of the stories she could ever conceive. She looked to Lana, Lola and Lisa, and despite them not wanting to, all nodded and silently left, deciding this was something they weren't ready to hear.

"He wanted to hurt me, and he did that. He sent mercenaries to kill me, had traps hidden to wound me…" Dawg continued, turning his arm over and looking at the few more noticeable scars. "I was just a kid, I was nine or ten when I did it, and it brought everything screaming back to the surface."

"What happened to Virus?" Lori finally asked. "If you're from another dimension or year, is he still around?"

"I killed him." Mad Dawg said, looking directly at her. The gasps of shock and disbelief were louder this time. "I wanted to get away from it all, and he wouldn't let me. Finally, he trapped me in a room, made me face the families I had destroyed, the parents I had made lose their kids, the relationships I had destroyed… He made them choose, either I could walk away, and all would be forgiven, or keep watching and see me die."

"Did they-"

"They wanted to watch me die." Mad Dawg cut her off. "But I don't blame them. Hell, maybe they didn't want to, I don't know. Virus pumped the room full of poison and left me to die. If it wasn't for me healing ability, I probably would've. He thought I had died and was going to make sure, and I attacked."

Mad Dawg paused, considering if he should tell them the whole truth or distort some of it to make him seem like less of a monster.

"We got into a fight, and he tried to shoot me. I turned the gun on him and he fired." Mad Dawg finally said. "He died. Ever since then, I've been seeing him, or hearing him… and nothing seems to cause it."

"Geez…" Lincoln said aloud, slightly sickened by what he had heard. From the videos he had seen, he knew that Dawg was most likely telling the truth.

"I know you all think I'm some sort of monster." Mad Dawg sighed. "And frankly I don't completely disagree with you. There'll be a day when I have to answer for all the horrible things I've done, the lives I've ruined, the-"

"Kace, stop." Luna suddenly spoke up, stopping Mad Dawg's self-loathing. "Just… stop."

"Uh… what?" Mad Dawg blinked, looking up.

"Okay, so you've done some bad things, you inadvertently killed people, but the important part of that is 'inadvertently'. From what I've heard, you never intended to hurt anyone, it was just a mistake that had terrible consequences."

"That's an understatement." Mad Dawg rolled his eyes.

"That may be true, but you're not _there _anymore. That you that this Virus asshole wanted to kill isn't _you. _From what you've told us, _you _fought to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, _you_ risked life and limb time and time again to help your friends." Luna explained.

"You can't be just brushing past that so easily." Mad Dawg muttered.

"No, I'm not." She shook her head in response. "But you're obviously remorseful. That counts for something, whether you want to see it or not."

"Luna's right." Rita slowly nodded. "If what you're saying is true, and frankly I'm inclined to believe you, it was a mistake."

"People _died._ Because of that mistake." Mad Dawg seethed, quietly.

"And it hurts, I get that. But now, you have a new life. Who do _you _want to be?" Rita added.

Mad Dawg thought it over, a small smiled forming on his face.

"Thank you." He finally said. "All of you. You're right, I can't keep letting my past define who I am. I need to stop running form the past, or I'm gonna miss what I have now… I did that once, and I don't wanna do that again and- what's burning?"

Before anyone could say anything, the smoke alarm went off.

"Agh! The lasagna!" Rita exclaimed, realizing she had left dinner in the oven. She (and Mad Dawg) ran back to the kitchen, and without thinking, Mad Dawg grabbed the flaming pasta and dropped it onto the counter, yelling in pain as he looked down at his now crispy hands.

"AGH! WHY DID I DO THAT!?" He shouted.

"Oh, my goodness! I'll call an ambule-" Rita began but stopped when she saw the skin on his hands was re-forming, healing him. "Oh, right…"

"Agh…" Mad Dawg breathed. "I'm good… I'm good."

The two looked at the scorched remains of the food before Mad Dawg spoke up.

"I can help make something if you want." He offered.

"Sure." Rita sighed with a slight smile.


	4. The Quest For Tacos: Part 1

Mad Dawg sat on yet another rooftop, looking back over the town. Another week had passed since he revealed everything, and there were… mixed reactions. Some of the Loud's believed him, and some thought he was insane. Considering that's how most people looked at Mad Dawg, this was nothing new to him. He was a bit disoriented, but simply kept moving forward, improvising solutions as he went. He had met up with Lincoln one more after their last encounter, mainly to apologize for how he lost it in the mall parking lot, but Lincoln had outright refused to let Dawg apologize. He was shaken up, but then again, when some random guy you've met twice suddenly screams in your face and holds you against a wall-

"Wow. I was kind of an asshole." Mad Dawg remarked, looking up to either the reader or the narrator.

Whatever. Mistakes were made on both sides, and Mad Dawg didn't feel like he had made an enemy that day, so that was a plus. Over the next few days, Mad Dawg decided he needed to find a place to live. This turned out to be much harder than expected.

"_Okay, we just need to see some identification." _The realtor had remarked, standing outside a small home next to Dawg. The latter of the two realized something: he didn't have any id that would be accepted in _this _world. This led to him having to start looking for the underworld or Royal Woods in order to find someone who may be able to help him get an Id, or at least set him up with a false one he could live by.

To his annoyance, the closest thing to an 'Underworld' the town had was a random drug dealer. Who got arrested ten seconds after Dawg met him.

This led him to consider doing something extremely stupid. One night he found himself out on the rooftop of a government service office late at night when it was closed.

"Am I really gonna do this?" Mad Dawg had muttered aloud. "Am I really gonna break into a government office to get false credentials so I can have a home and buy alcohol?"

Mad Dawg paused for a few moments, then simply said:

"Yup."

Mad Dawg moved over to the vent system and removed the grate. Finding it was continently big enough for someone as big as Mad Dawg to fit into. He crawled and awkwardly forced himself into uncomfortable positions for a few minutes until he saw what he was looking for.

"_I found the computer room." _He thought. _"No! Bad Dawg! No! Bad reference!" _

As Mad Dawg slowly removed the grate so he could slip down and sneakily make his way to the computer, he realized something as he pushed the grate out of its position.

What was holding him up?

"Oh sh-" Mad Dawg whispered before falling headfirst onto the floor, and face-first onto the grate. Laying there for a few minutes, Mad Dawg began to wonder if being legally old enough to buy a home and alcohol was worth all this trouble.

"If this isn't worth it, WHY ARE YOU WRITING IT!?" Mad Dawg hissed, still face down on the grate. Only to not receive an answer. Well, that was a lie, he did receive an answer, in the form of his bag teetering off of the edge of the vent he was hiding in and falling down and landing on his head.

"Ow…"

Slowly, Dawg pulled himself up and looked around. He knew this was going to be tricky. There was a security camera in one corner, and unless he shut it off, the bright light of the computer would give him away. Mad Dawg knew he had to do this quietly, find a way to properly subdue the security system and-

_Shing! _

Or he could just throw a knife at the wiring beneath the camera with reckless aim, and pray to God that it worked. Which somehow it did.

Using some of the equipment he still had, Mad Dawg managed to break the log in credentials on the computer and set to work. He quickly punched in a bunch of nonsense until he came to his name, this did give him a reason to pause. Sure, 'Mad Dawg' was his real name, and 'Kace' was his nickname given to him by Marcus and the others, but what should his name be?

"_Kace Horatio Constantine." _Mad Dawg entered, not knowing why he chose 'Constantine' but he thought it sounded cool. As he hit 'print' he snuck his way to the camera, and using a bit of electrical tape, fixed the break.

Then Mad Dawg heard a door being opened.

"_Oh crap." _He blinked, knowing he had about ten seconds before the camera came back on, he dropped and rolled back to the counter. The papers were just about done… But there wasn't time! He needed to go!

Seeing a flashlight down the hall, Mad Dawg grabbed the papers and cut the power to the computer, not even logging off properly. Grabbing the vent cover, his bag, and his new identity, he jumped and pulled himself back into the vent. Holding the grate in place, he watched as who he assumed to be a security guard walked in with a flashlight and looked around. He checked the computer, then checked under the counters. After a nerve-wracking few minutes, he seemed satisfied that no one was present and left.

Mad Dawg took off and didn't look back.

Now, he had leased a house nearby the Royal Oak mall. Mad Dawg had been cleaning out his bag (something he hadn't done in AGES) and found something solid and heavy.

"That's what she said."

To his shock, he had found two gold bars in his bag. He tried to remember when he possibly would've gotten these… Then he remembered the events in Deadlock Gorge. He also remembered he had stolen these bars back then, and had no idea what to do with them. So, after pawning them, Mad Dawg had more money than he knew what to do with. So, he made his house feel more like home. He picked up a record player and some vinyl that had cool covers (the music itself wasn't Dawg's deciding factor when he bought records), an assortment of RC car and drone parts and frames, as well as some wielding gear. The one thing Dawg hadn't gotten, and believed he wasn't going to get again, were his guns.

"_Still, maybe that's for the best." _He thought, opening a Phoenix Energy. Which admittedly, he had kind of become addicted to.

Back when he was rolling with Overwatch, there were two important factors: One, he was working with a government organization, so getting guns was stupidly easy, and two, he lived in the streets for a while. He grew up in some bad places, he wa surrounded by it. That made getting his hands on guns almost criminally easy. On top of the regular criminal-ness of buying black market weapons, that he had stocked his arsenal with, but who cares? When he died… He didn't bring his shottie with him.

"_I'll miss ya Ol' Rusty…" _Mad Dawg had sighed when he realized the sawed-off double-barrel he had for nearly a decade was gone, most likely destroyed in the explosion. Still, he ended up buying a chainsaw and a crossbow, because for some inexplicable reason, you needed to be over 16 to buy a hunting crossbow, and there weren't any licencing laws about using it. Heck, they didn't even bat an eye when he had bought his chainsaw, and several cans of gas and a few extra chains. He paid in cash, and that's all they seemed to care about.

Now, we were where he was at the beginning of the chapter.

"I'm on the roof." Mad Dawg commented, clarifying things.

Okay, fine, do my job… Regardless, Mad Dawg had been on the hunt for something for the past two days. A commodity he hadn't had since his previous life, a treasure he valued above all else, and would scour the entire town if need be to find it.

Tacos.

Mad Dawg looked at his phone, reading the map he had pulled up to a place called 'Lobo's Tacos', a small Mexican resturaunt that apparently had some of the best tacos around. Sure, Mad Dawg could've been spending this time trying to get home, or making friends, or learning more about where he was, but at the same time. Tacos.

Yes, Dawg kind of has a one-track-mind when it comes to these types of things.

Climbing down a fire escape, Mad Dawg continued walking through an alley way towards his destination. As he continued walking he listened to the calm sounds of the town life, honestly, he'd be lying if he didn't say he liked it here. Sure, things got off to a rocky start, and he was dead (presumably, the jury was still out on that one) but all in all, there was something picturesque about the town, like those Animal Crossing games Dawg played when he got bored.

"_YES! TACOS!" _Mad Dawg mentally cheered when he saw the sign for 'Lobo's Tacos' up ahead. He looked around, checking out what some of the other stores were around here. Nothing really caught his interest, aside from a used books and video store. Maybe he could find some b-horror movies there to watch while he was kicking it in his home. He smirked, thinking about the films like _Terrorcuda _and _Curse of the Were-Shark _and how absolutely stupid they were. But hey, they were good for a laugh.

Just as Dawg turned his attention back to the taco resturaunt-

_WHAM!_

The door flew open and hit him right in the face, breaking his nose.

"Agh! Damn it!" He yelled in pain, stumbling back as blood ran down his face. He looked up in anger and saw a man running off, and another man ran out of the store, yelling in Spanish.

"Holy- hey, kid, you okay?" He asked, his anger turning to shock when he saw Dawg.

"Agh… I'll live…" Dawg growled. "What was that estúpido running for?"

"The bastarda robbed me, came in and held me at gunpoint, he-" The man began but stopped when he saw Mad Dawg run off down the street, moving faster than he would've expected the kid to go. "…How…?" He muttered in disbelief.

The would-be robber looked over his shoulder and gasped when he saw a teenage not only running after him, but closing the distance. He looked back forward and kept running, kicking a garbage can over to try and slow him down. He didn't look back, and missed Mad Dawg jumping over it then rolling on the ground, then launching out of the roll. Ignoring the oncoming traffic, the man ran across the walkway, several cars screeching and honking angrily as he ran. Mad Dawg jumped onto the hood of one of them and jumped off, grabbing onto a light post and swinging off of it, remembering the free running he used to do…

_Crunch!_

…and the fact that he always sucked at landing. This was no different. Dawg went too far and smacked into a brick wall, falling onto his back and disorienting him. Groaning as he pulled himself up, he shook off the people who were trying to help him, and caught a glimpse of the thief running into an alley. Mad dawg began running again, not noticing that he began running on his hands and feet, his body beginning to change.

In the alley that the robber hoped would be his salvation, turned out to be a dead-end. As the man turned around, he saw Dawg skid to a stop and stand up, glaring death at him.

"S..stay back! I'll shoot!" The man cried aiming his gun shakily at Dawg. Mad Dawg blinked, then took a step forward.

"Do it." Mad Dawg challenged. "Shoot me."

"W..what?"

"Shoot me. C'mon, if you're threatening to shoot me, then shoot me." Mad Dawg replied, unnervingly calm as he took another step forward. The man seemed to be absolutely terrified now as Dawg slowly kept getting closer. But he didn't have his hands up to grab the gun, heck, he didn't even seem to be armed.

"Kid!" A voice called, a man a bit older than Dawg was standing at the end of the alley, seeming genuinely concerned. "The cops are coming, just walk away! You don't want to get hurt!"

"Nah. I'm good." Mad Dawg replied dismissively, waving a hand. "But thanks, anyways uh…"

"Bobby, Bobby Santiago." Bobby called, unsure of what to do. He and a few others were watching, but knew the thief had a gun, so while they needed to get this kid out of there, no one knew what to do that wouldn't get him shot.

"Thanks Bobby, but I've got this." Mad Dawg called back. "This dude couldn't shoot me even if he actually had a spine. He find a way to use said spine to try and beat people off so he could run and hide."

"A..ar…are you crazy?! Do you wan..want to die!?" The man shouted, trying to figure out who this kid was, and why he seemed to calm about having a gun aimed at him.

"I've died before, it wasn't for me." Mad Dawg shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "Y'know, if you're gonna be a tough man and own a gun, you'd better be ready to use it."

Mad Dawg stepped forward again, now maybe six feet away.

"So. Why don't you prove to me that you're not all talk and shoo-"

_Bang!_

The man screamed in shocked when he realized he had pulled the trigger in a panic. He looked at Dawg, who stood with a blank expression, before looking down at his chest, a bleeding hole dangerously close to his heart.

"Huh, good on ya." Mad Dawg remarked, then fell backwards to the ground. There were loud screams of terror as everyone saw Mad Dawg hit the ground. The man breathed shakily, unable to comprehend what he had just done. He didn't see the garbage can lid come flying at him like a frisbee until it hit him in the chest, making him drop the gun and stumble back.

"Oof!" He wheezed.

"You just shot a kid." Bobby said, anger in his eyes as he walked down the alley. He had no idea who this kind was, but he seemed to be no older than sixteen he heard the sirens of police cars as several officers appeared, weapons drawn, one of them gasping in shock at Mad Dawg's body. "He had his whole life ahead of him, and you took that from him."

"I..i..i didn't mean to! I swear!" The man whimpered, clearly frightened for his life. "I…I just needed the money!"

"Is he…" one of the officers asked, looking down at Dawg's body.

"He's gone." Another said solemnly. "No one could survive being shot like that. Call the others, we need to preserve the scene."

"Dispatch, we have a one-eight-seven, victim appears to be…"

Bobby looked back to the main, absolute disdain on his face. Sure, this was some random kid he hadn't met before, but like he said, the kid was just that. A kid. Heck, he was trying to do the right thing and got killed because of it. Before Bobby could say anything else, a weird sound was heard. The two looked down to Mad Dawg's body, and saw something being pushed out form his chest.

A bullet.

To their absolute shock, Mad Dawg leaned up groaning in pain, then stood up. Everyone present stepped back in fright as Mad Dawg cracked his neck and looked down at the man who shot him.

"Okay. All I wanted were some tacos, but _YOU _just had to rob that ONE place!" He growled. "_YOU_ had to lead me on a pointless chase, and _YOU. SHOT. ME." His eyes seemed to shift to a twisted black and red colour._ "_NOW _I'm pissed." He growled. Reaching behind him, he pulled his chainsaw out from… somewhere, and before he could prime it, realized there were cops there, and hid it again.

"Kid? How are you alive?" Bobby slowly asked.

"A single bullet can't kill me." Mad Dawg groaned. "But MAN did that hurt! Why do I keep forgetting bullets are painful!?"

"Uh, dispatch, cancel that last call." The Officer on the radio said in a what-is-happening-tone-of-voice. "Send… send medical. And… Just get here!"

By now, Mad Dawg's eyes had returned to normal, and he turned around to face the officers.

"Hi, my name's Kace, people call me Mad Dawg." He introduced himself as if nothing had just happened.

"Son, how are you standing?" One of the officers asked, still blinking to try and make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"That's a long story." Mad Dawg remarked. "Short of it is, I heal. Really fast."

"I can tell."

"Great. We done here?" Mad Dawg asked, now sounding annoyed. "Cause I really want some tacos."

"Son, we're not even close to done."

"Damn it!"

"And Lobo's Tacos will most likely be closed for the rest of the day while we figure out what happened."

"Damn it!"

"You're going to need to come with us, we need to make sure you're okay."

"Ha! That's what you think!" Mad Dawg laughed, before looking around and seeing there were no fire escapes or anything to help him escape to the rooftop and quietly muttrered: "Damn it…"

For the next half an hour or so, Mad Dawg, Bobby, and the cops tried to piece together what had just happened. If he was honest, Mad Dawg didn't want this to be spread around. He was trying to keep a low profile, he took off after the thief because the hero in him wouldn't let him stop. Plus, if he stopped him, then he could get tacos. Now, he was more concerned about the fake ID he had procured, and the fact that a bunch of cops had seen him get shot, then get back up.

"_Okay, I don't have anything against cops, I mean. I'm white." _Mad Dawg mentally mused. _"But if they ask me to join the force, I'm not doing that. Also, dude what was with that race joke?" _

You said it not me.

"_But-"_

"Hey, kid? What's your name?" One of the cops asked, bringing Mad Dawg back to reality, pulled down by gravity. "We have some questions for you."

"My name is-"

Mom's spaghetti

"My name is-"

What? My name is Who?

"_I am going to stab you." _

…I'll be quiet.

"My name's Kace." Mad Dawg said flatly.

"Full name?"

"Kace Horatio Constantine." Mad Dawg replied.

"Alright Mr. Constantine, first of all, why did you run into an alleyway after a man who was armed? Did he steal from you?"

"No." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I didn't know he was armed. Heck, I don't even know who that guy is. He hit me in the face with the door as he was trying to run."

"He's tellin' the truth." The man from the store, a Mr. Trejo, (Mad Dawg hadn't caught his first name) confirmed. He had followed not long after and was quick to tell the cops what had happened. "The kid got hit, then tore off running."

"Alright, why?" The officer asked.

"Miss…" Mad Dawg began.

"Diana." Diana answered.

"Right, Miss Diana, I took off running because it was the right thing to do. You're a cop, you see someone grab a purse, what do you do?"

"…try to stop them." Diana frowned, feeling honestly annoyed by Mad dawg's somewhat pandering tone. Then again, she had seen this kid get shot, so she was willing to cut him some slack.

"Shoot him. Right." Mad Dawg replied off handedly and sarcastically. "Er, sorry."

About forty minutes later, Mad Dawg had given the cops the answers they wanted. They still had many, many questions, but they didn't know how to ask them, or if anyone would believe their answers. After Mad Dawg was briefly examined by the ambulance that arrived, he was let go.

Mad Dawg cracked his back and sighed, looking around as if trying to figure out what to do now. Honestly, he wanted to go home…

"Hey, Kace."

Mad Dawg turned around to see Bobby was talking to him.

"You gonna be alright man? Need a ride anywhere?"

Mad Dawg paused for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he had heard 'Santiago' before… also, he may as well get a ride home.

"Yeah, sure." He nodded. The two began walking towards Bobby's car, as they went, the older man looked to Mad Dawg.

"So… this may sound weird. But my girlfriend mentioned that she met, in her own words 'Some weird guy named Kace'. Is that you?"

"Lori." Mad Dawg said aloud. "Lori Loud."

"Yeah, that's her." Bobby nodded.

"Then yes. That's me." Mad Dawg smirked. "But uh, between you and me, my real name's Mad Dawg."

"Wait. Mad Dawg?" Bobby asked, laughing slightly.

"Yeah." Mad Dawg smiled in response.

"No offence kid, but what kind of name is 'Mad Dawg'?"

"The name given to you by the people who find you on the street and take you in as one of their own." Mad Dawg answered as he got in on the passenger side of his car, Bobby however was left in silence before he finally got in.

"Hey, I didn't mean-" He began awkwardly.

"Heh, it's fine." Mad Dawg smirked. "They're my family, and it's my name. Say it loud, say it proud!"

"Well, Lori was right, you are weird." Bobby now laughed, releasing the emergency break. "Now, where we heading?"

"You know that chemical plant where they refine crude oil into gasoline? I live in the vents there."

"Um… I have no idea where that is."

"Neither do I! I live like six streets up." Mad Dawg grinned. Bobbly looked at him in confusion, then realized he was being lied to, and laughed as he drove off.

As the two drove, Mad Dawg listened to some music on the radio listening to the Spanish music. He smirked and let himself vibe out to it, thinking about… Jax. Man. That was someone he hadn't thought about in a while… Well, him and Sombra… Still, one of them helped create him, and the other tried to kill him.

"Okay, I gotta ask." Bobby finally said, as if he had been debating something for a few minutes. "How'd you survive?"

"You won't believe me if I told you." Mad Dawg chuckled, knowing how _this _conversation was going to go.

"Oh, c'mon man! You can't do me like that!" Bobby replied exasperated.

"Look, what's the point of telling you if I already know you won't believe me." Mad Dawg reasoned.

"Who cares?! Tell me!" Bobby insisted.

"I'm a mutant." Mad Dawg said simply, preparing for the 'No-Your-Not' run-around he was going to have to deal with.

"Okay, I believe you." Bobby nodded. Mad Dawg twitched and seemed to go stiff, before finally looking to the man driving.

"You… you believe me?" Mad Dawg finally stammered.

"Yes." Bobby shrugged. "I saw you get shot point blank, then the bullet was pushed out from your chest, and now you're sitting here next to me. You're either a superhero, a demon, or some sort of zombie."

"Brraaiinnsssss…."

The two laughed and Mad Dawg sighed, feeling relieved.

"Dude. You have no idea how much of a breath of fresh air that is. _EVERYONE _I talk to is like 'No, you're just a kid', or 'Dude, you need mental help!' or 'You killed my son, you-' wait. Not that one… But it's… man, it's nice for someone to just be like… sure, that's true."

"I'll be real with you kid, if I didn't see it happen, I wouldn't believe it. Even having seen it, I have like a million questions about this, but right now, I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Mad Dawg nodded.

The rest of the ride back was relaxed, the two made jokes, talked about life, Mad Dawg felt like Bobby was someone he could genuinely rely on if need be. When they arrived back at his house, Mad Dawg got out and nodded.

"Thanks man." Mad Dawg smirked.

"Hey, Dawg. You sure you're gonna be okay?" Bobby asked. "I don't wanna leave you if you're suddenly gonna die from that bullet wound. I mean, my mom's a nurse if you…"

"Dude. Let it go." Mad Dawg laughed, sighing as he did so. "I'm fine!"

"Alright. See you around then." Bobby smirked.

"Later dude." Mad Dawg waved as he went back into his home. Bobby's smile slowly faded to one of concern. He took out his phone and sent a message to a few people.

_Hey, that Kace kid? I met him. Someone should keep an eye on him. Seems like a nice dude, but I think he could use someone to talk to._

_KK. _

_Sure. _

_You met him? I told you, he's weird right? _

_Yeah. He's weird but he's nice. I don't think he had a normal upbringing though. Still, nice dude. Likes tacos. _

_Yooo…. Tacos sound gr8! Let's get som3! _

Lying on his couch, Mad Dawg flipped through the channels until he passed a news story, reporting on a man who had been arrested after armed robbery. Mad Dawg chuckled but kept flipping, he found a football game and figured it was good enough.

"_Well, I failed to get tacos… FOR NOW!" _Mad Dawg mentally declared. _"Today, stopping a robbery and getting shot. Tomorrow, TACOS!" _

Little did Mad Dawg know, getting tacos wasn't going to be easy…

**A.N. And so, the quest for tacos begins! If you've read the story that came before this one, you might be thinking 'great… here's where he start's a story and then goes off on dozens of tangents…'. Not this time. I've got a few arcs, and I know how the story is gonna end. So, kick back, relax, fav, follow and review, and enjoy Mad Dawg's continued adventures! **

**Also, made a few quick edits here. Some of the terminology used by the Hispanic characters was wrong. My mistake, I didn't intend to do that. **


	5. The Quest For Tacos: Part 2

As the sun rose over Royal Woods, people began to wake up. Some of them would head to work, others would head downstairs, and others would relax. Everyone had a sort of routine, so to say. An unspoken schedule that got them through the day. Mad Dawg was still sleeping. He had no schedule, he just did what he felt like. Still, even if continuing to sleep for long periods of time wasn't seen as a routine, it was something that Mad Dawg needed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-

**CRUNCH! **

Jolted awake, Mad Dawg's hand slammed down at what he thought might be an attacker, and smashed his alarm clock irreparably. Bolting into an upright position, Mad Dawg pushed his hair away from his eyes and blinked, realizing what had happened.

"Ugh… Not again…" He muttered, looking at the plastic chunks that were handing to his hand. "That's the fourth one this week."

Unplugging the remains of his clock, Mad Dawg tossed the twisted chunk of plastic and parts into his garbage bin, which had a few other alarm clocks' remains as well.

"…maybe I should put one in the bathroom or something."

Knowing that there was no point in fighting it, Mad Dawg listlessly pulled himself off of his futon and got changed. He was still groggy from his rude awakening, and he also didn't have any sort of plan for what he was going to do today. It took about half an hour by Mad Dawg finally left his house, leaving the door locked. He sat on the porch railing and looked around. Eventually he decided to-

"_Wait. No, I can't do that here." _He frowned.

Then he figured that he would go-

"_They don't have that here." _

Finally, he decided he'd hang out with-

"_Wait. I don't have any friends." _He realized. _"Huh." _

Truth be told, Dawg for the first time in a long time, was lost. When he first arrived, his goal had been to figure out where he was. Then, he needed to figure out what had just happened. He After that, he needed to get to know some people, who in this case were the Louds. After that, he needed to get a place to stay. Now… Nothing.

"No, wait." Mad Dawg muttered, as if suddenly realizing something. "There was something I needed to do. Tacos."

Jumping to the ground, Mad Dawg decided to head to the Royal Woods Mall again. Apparently, there was a 'Taco Shack', a fast-food taco chain. That was all Dawg needed to hear! Heading down the road, Mad Dawg cast a glance at the cars that went by. It occurred to him that while free running was fun and a great way to get around town, he figured he should maybe consider buying a car or a bike.

"_Or an ATV." _Dawg thought to himself. _"Would that be legal to drive on the open road? More importantly, would it be cool enough to take that risk?"_

As he considered the legal ramifications of dangerous driving, Dawg kept walking, eventually finding himself at the outskirts of the town. Looking around, Mad Dawg grinned, then went behind a store. Closing the lid on a large recycling container, Mad Dawg jumped up, got up onto the roof, and sighed. Cracking is neck, he grinned.

"Let's fly!"

Mad Dawg ran and jumped, rolling onto another rooftop, then taking off again.

_Meanwhile… _

"So, who's this 'Dog' guy you were talking about?" Sam asked. "He's some sort of dimension jumping… time traveler?

"Oh, you mean Mad Dawg? He's… He said he's from another dimension, and it could just be the future, but I believe him. He's this guy that my sister may have, sort of… hit with Vanzilla." Luna admitted. She figured if she told Sam amount Dawg, and his ability, but not much about his past, that wouldn't be an issue.

"Wait. What!?" Sam stopped dead in her tracks. "She… she hit someone?! Why isn't she in jail!?"

"Because… He got back up." Luna slowly confessed. "He… he got up, and he was healing, like freakishly fast."

"Okay, Luna…" Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you hear yourself right now? This is crazy! If you're trying to pitch me some sort of comic idea, I'm the wrong person to talk to."

"But I'm not making this up." Luna replied flatly. She knew this sounded crazy, but at the same time, it was true.

"Luna, if your sister _hit _someone, they'd be in the hospital, and Vanzilla would be covered in blood. Also, if this is all true, where is he?" Sam continued, clearly not believing her. "You expect me to believe some random guy just fell out of the sky and-"

THOOM

Sam And Luna flinched as a figure suddenly landed in a pose on the ground, cracking his neck as he stood up. He turned around and looked slightly down at Sam. The blonde rocker looking back in shock at the teen who appeared from nowhere. He then looked over her shoulder at Luna.

"Hey Luna." He nodded.

"Hey Dawg." Luna smiled. "Sam? This is Mad Dawg."

"Uh... hi." Sam blinked. "Okay… So, he's real, and- Wait. Is Mad Dawg your name? Or..."

"It's my real name." Mad Dawg nodded.

"That's cool!" Sam grinned.

"Yup." Mad Dawg smirked.

"Hey, where've you been the past week?" Luna asked. "I haven't seen you anywhere."

"I was doing… stuff…" Mad Dawg said, looking around, realizing that they clearly weren't believing him. He sighed before adding. "Okay, I've been doing nothing for the past week."

"…so what are you doing now? Jumping off of rooftops to try and break your legs for insurance?" Luna asked with a raised brow.

"I'm trying to get tacos and not get _shot _doing it_._" Mad Dawg grumbled, clearly remembering something.

"Back up." Sam suddenly ordered. "What happened to you?"

"You were shot?!" Luna asked in disbelief. The two pasued, then remembered having heard the news about an attempted robbery at Lobo's Tacos. Rumors had been circulating that someone had been shot, but the cops hadn't said anything about it.

"You were at Lobo's tacos?" Sam asked.

"Yup."

"You were there when the robbery happened?"

"Yup."

"You got _shot?_"

Mad Dawg pulled his shirt down and pointed to one of his scars, this one was still clearly new, and it was clearly different from the others.

"Yup." Mad Dawg nodded. "I tried to stop the dude and got shot."

"What are you doing out here?! If you got shot, you should be in a-" Sam began stammering, clearly shocked by what she had just been told. Her gut reaction was disbelief, but her mother was a nurse who worked with Bobby's mother, and she had seen pictures before of certain wounds. Even if it wasn't from the robbery, Mad Dawg had been shot.

Mad Dawg noticed she was about to have a breakdown, so he looked over at a nearby drain spout and whipped his arm against it, wincing in pain, Mad Dawg began to think maybe he should record himself doing this so he wouldn't have to constantly hurt himself to prove a point. Sam stopped sputtering and watched as the long cut slowly closed itself, as if nothing had happened.

"Okay, that may be the most metal thing I've ever seen." Sam nodded, eerily calm. Luna sighed in relief as it looked like Sam wasn't about to have a breakdown.

"Thanks." Mad Dawg smirked.

"I mean, you just… heal?" Sam continued with a genuine question.

"Yeah. Flesh, muscle, bones, some things take longer than others, but yeah." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Hey… Luna! He should be in the video!" Sam exclaimed, turning and looking around at Luna.

"Video?" The two asked in unison.

"Under the Full Moon!" Sam explained.

"Wait, you guys have a band? What type of music?" Mad Dawg asked curiously.

"Rock." Luna and Sam said with grins.

"Ah, women of culture." Mad Dawg said with a smirk and nod. "So like, what you thinking?"

"Okay, so how awesome would it be to have him as some sort of monster wandering through the video!? We could have him bleed to make some sort of trail and mix it with fake blood!"

"Actually, yeah." Mad Dawg nodded. "Get some blood packets to conceal it, a little bit of fake arm concealer thing…"

"Yeah! And we can get Dexx to do his make-up thing to make him look like a zombie-creature!" Sam continued.

"Sam." Luna said flatly.

"It'll be awesome! He can walk around and be this nightmarish entity like some sort of grim reaper!"

"Sam."

"And Dexx can easily make something to cover his arms so no one can tell what's real or fake!"

"Sam!" Luna shouted.

"Huh? What?" She blinked, coming back to reality.

"No." Was all she said in a very flat tone, before turing to Mad Dawg. "And what are _you _thinking!?You can't self-mutilate for money! Are you insane?!"

"No. I'm Mad." Mad Dawg replied with a cheeky grin and a thumbs up.

"Why are you doing this?" Luna asked quietly.

"Because I'm bored and need friends." Mad Dawg shrugged.

"That's a terrible way to make friends." Sam stated, now realizing that while her idea was cool, it was also extremely illegal and just wrong…

"But friends help each other, right?" Mad Dawg replied. "I mean, I've got this-"

"_**NO!"**_His conscious screamed. _**"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?" **_

"_Look, it's not the way it used to be."___Mad Dawg thought. _"I've gotten better at controlling it, I mean, at the Lindholm's, I had a pretty good grasp on it."___

"_**And if you fail, for any reason. Not only will you have ruined any chances you had at making friends or finding someone to help you get home, you'll need to drop everything and run for it. Only this time, there won't be a second chance." **_

"_Yeah? And if I keep fighting it, sooner or later, it's going to break out and take over. When that happens, I won't be able to fight it. I need to learn to accept it, until I can find a cure for it." _

"…_**Wow, you've actually thought this out."**_

"_Yup." _

Sam and Luna looked to one another, both clearly confused as to why Dawg seemed to freeze and stare into space.

"Did he break?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea." Luna frowned.

"Right, right… oh, sorry." Mad Dawg said sheepishly. "I uh, I zoned out for a second. What I was gonna say is I've been working on this big 'beast' costume. It's huge, and it's an animatronic costume mixed with a full-body suit. I was working on it for Halloween, and I've nearly got it done. I'd be more than happy to wear it for the video."

The two were surprised, then looked to one another, they were interested, but they had one question:

"What's it look like?"

Mad Dawg pulled up a picture and showed it to them. It was mostly shrouded in shadow, but they got the idea.

"Whoa…" Luna breathed.

"Yes. This." Sam said, her eyes widening in excitement. But the excitement was quickly cut short when Luna frowned.

"Wy are you offering to do this?" She asked Dawg. "We've only met a few times, and we barely know each other. Is there a reason you're offering to do this?"

"Well, first of all. I'm bored." Mad Dawg confessed. "Secondly, I've never been in a music video, and that sounds like a lot of fun. Third, I kinda, sorta need friends… and I'm not very good at making them. I just… do things and try to find people to hang out with. I know that sounds pathetic and stuff… but it's true."

Sam and Luna looked to one another, seeing that Dawg wasn't lying. Or at least, he was good at lying.

"Sure." Luna nodded. "We need to talk with the others about it, but I bet they'd be down to have you join for the shoot."

"Okay, cool." Mad Dawg nodded. "I'm gonna keep heading to the mall. I really, really need some tacos."

"Heh, sure." Luna shrugged. "Whatever works for you."

"Great! I'll call you!" Mad Dawg said with a grin, beginning to walk away.

"We don't have your number!" Luna called after realizing something. "And you don't have ours!"

"Exactly!" Mad Dawg shouted.

The two rockers watched Mad Dawg leave, having mixed feelings about the meeting. On the one hand, if his offer was true, it'd be awesome to have him in the video. But on the other hand, he just seemed… off.

"He's weird." Sam remarked, then added: "I like him."

Waiting at a crosswalk, Mad Dawg pushed the button for the traffic crossing. After about five seconds, Mad Dawg sprinted across the walk way, narrowly avoiding being hit by a car. Breathing quickly, Mad Dawg looked around, checking the street signs to figure out where he was headed next.

"You really couldn't wait another twenty seconds?"

Mad Dawg turned around and saw one of the older Loud girls, the one with blonde hair and white glasses.

"Nope." He shrugged, the blanked on her name. Snapping he muttered; "Hang on… don't tell me. Lori?"

"Leni." Leni replied.

"Right, sorry…" Mad Dawg said rubbing the back of his head. He was new where, but he felt guilty when he couldn't remember the names of the people he was interacting with.

"It's fine, when there's twelve of us, it can be a little tricky to remember all the names."

"No, no… It's just… Your Bobby's boyfriend, right?" Mad Dawg muttered, trying to remember something.

"Yup!" Lori smiled. "So, what brings you out here?"

"Headin' to the mall." Mad Dawg said, pointing over in a random direction with his thumb.

"Right, first of all, it's that way." Leni corrected Dawg with a slight laugh, pointing in the opposite direction that Dawg was pointing at. Did you get a job there?"

"Nah. I just really want tacos." Mad Dawg shook his head. _"Enough to get shot over it." _

The two stood there, unsure of what else to say, until Leni spoke up.

"Hey. Do you wanna get a coffee?"

Leni couldn't help but laugh quietly at Dawg's reaction. He seemed taken aback, blinking and looking around as if trying to figure out if she was talking to someone else. He reacted like no one had ever made an offer like that before.

"_Then again, if he IS from another world or something, maybe no one in THIS world has made that offer before." _She thought.

"Uh… yeah. Sure…"

A few minutes later, the two were sitting in Tyger King Coffee. Mad Dawg sipped his drink, a black dark roast.

"I don't get how anyone can drink that stuff black." Leni shook her head, almost in amazement.

"I like my coffee to remind me of my soul." Mad Dawg said in a calm, but no less chipper tone. He paused for a moment then laughed. "Sorry. Bad joke."

"I've heard worse from Lana. Bad jokes don't annoy me the way they used to." Leni replied. "Although don't take that as an invitation to try and team up with her to make as many bad jokes as- Dang it, you're gonna do that aren't you?"

"Maybe." Mad Dawg said.

"Please don't."

"I'm gonna."

"Please…"

"Okay, fine…" Mad Dawg sighed, over dramatically.

The pair returned to their drinks. Mad Dawg seemed noticeably less tense than he had been a few minutes ago. Either the caffeine had taken the edge off, or he was warming up a bit.

"This may seem like a weird question, but are you okay?" Leni asked. Mad Dawg looked at her with a slightly tilted head, his eyes looked around.

"Yeah. That is a weird question." He finally answered. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Bobby... said you seemed like you needed someone to talk to." Leni began cautiously. "He said that you seemed like a nice guy, so… I figured I'd talk to ya."

"You're trying to give me coffee therapy? The last shrink I saw had to go to a shrink herself after one session."

"No, no. This isn't some sorta therapy thing. I think" Leni shook her head. "But, you're new here. Both in terms of moving in, and in ways I don't think anyone could ever experience, and when we found you, you looked like you had seen a war."

"That's kinda true." Mad Dawg nodded.

"And… while I'm still on the fence about believing you with the whole 'from another dimension' thing, but it's clear you're not from around here."

"Uh huh." Mad Dawg said with a frown, not liking where this was going.

"I'm not gonna try to force you to say anything you don't wanna say, but if you need someone to talk to… I dunno. I wanted to see if you needed help with anything."

"Can you build me a device that can open a portal to another dimension so I can go home?" Mad Dawg asked, the sarcasm in his voice not one of condescension, but a joking one.

"No, but Lisa might be able too." Leni replied with a smirk. Mad Dawg was going to react with a sly remark, but was taken aback by the answer.

"Huh…" He muttered. "I'll keep that in mind…"

Lisa… she was the tiny one. Dawg knew Leni was joking, but going along with a joke could mean he got lucky. Then again, considering his luck, he'd probably be killed by whatever device she made…

"Can I ask you something?" Mad Dawg asked, looking back to the Loud.

"Fire away."

"Why are you doing this?" Mad Dawg asked plainly. "Why… why are you trying to be a therapist? With Lincoln and Clyde and even Luna, the conversations we had or the things we agreed to help each other with were mutually beneficial."

"Hey, you repaired Vanzilla. Sorry about hitting you by the way."

"You're still on about that?" Mad Dawg asked in surprise. "Like I said, we made a deal. You upheld your end, I upheld mine, the situation leading to it no longer matters."

"I know but-"

"I am also on many painkillers right now, and have been for the past two weeks. I think I have an addiction."

"Whoa, Dawg. If that's true, you should-"

"Again. Kidding." Dawg chuckled. "But seriously. Forget about the van incident. I'm fine. But back to my question, I get maybe you're still trying to figure out if I'm a threat or not, or maybe you're just trying to make friends. Honestly, if it's the latter… thank you."

Mad Dawg finished his sentence with an almost childish tone. Leni couldn't help but smile at that. It was clear Dawg was… different. Maybe this was just how he showed his 'soft side'.

"I act like I've got it all together. But the weird thing is I can take a lot of damage, do some really crazy things, but I've never been good at making friends. Aside from the ones I made when I was stuck living with them."

"Look, Kace. I'm not gonna claim I'm perfect. I've made some mistakes in my life. One of the worst ones was when the whole family kind of turned on Lincoln."

Mad Dawg seemed to freeze somewhat, his face a mixture of confusion and hesitancy. There was something in Leni's tone that made it clear this was _not _something she was _not _fappy about. It reminded Dawg of his tone when talking about Virus.

"So, this one time, Lynn Jr. had the whole family go to one of her games, and when she lost, she for some inexplicable reason blamed Lincoln for her bad luck."

Mad Dawg blinked.

"Then, the others started blaming his 'bad luck' for stuff he had nothing to do with. We didn't want him around, admittedly, he wanted space form us so it kinda worked out. But… no one… ever… tried to fix it... One thing led to another, we got more and more paranoid… Eventually, he was kind of isolated from the family."

Mad Dawg's face was now one of disgust. Leni couldn't blame him, she remembered how they had treated him.

"Damn, and I thought the freaks in the terror organization who created me were heartless." Mad Dawg scowled. Leni blinked, clearly angered by his remark, but continued.

"Excuse you." She scowled.

Dawg gave her a look, a mixture of regret and indifference.

"I should've done something, I should've talked to him, or tried to do... anything. But I didn't. There're still some scars that haven't faded amongst the family. My biggest regret was just... watching. I should have done something."

"No such luck I take it..." Mad Dawg said quietly.

"See? That." Leni suddenly cut in. "I don't know why you act like that. Like… there's been some really bad stuff in your life I can't deny that. When we found you, you looked like you had been through a war. And if that's true, I think you'd know how much it hurts nearly losing someone you care for."

"_Sayonara... Kanshi Suru..." _

"_See if it that does anything. But don't come back." _

"Yeah... I do." Mad Dawg quietly said. "More than you know… and more that I wanted to."

"And you're right. I know _barely_ anything about you. I don't even know your real name. But it doesn't take a genius to see you're hurt." Leni continued, seeming a bit more serious than Dawg would've given her credit for. "Just form this talk, I can take a pretty good guess and say that there's still scars that even with a… a mutant healing factor won't heal anytime soon."

There was a strong tension between the two, so Dawg turned back to his coffee.

"I'm not saying this as some sort of shrink, I'm saying this as someone who's seen people I care for get hurt. You can't carry the world on your shoulders. I just want to help. Even if it's leaving you alone, I don't want to leave you without knowing there are people you can talk to."

"Yeah..." Mad Dawg said quietly. He looked at the floor then back up at Leni. Dang it… now he was conflicted… Leni was kind, and she seemed to be genuine… but Dawg was still hung up on the past. Granted, _he literally died _but still.

"I'm sorry. That comment about you and your family was extremely crass." Mad Dawg finally said. "It's just… I… I mean… you…"

Mad Dawg took a long drink of is coffee then finally said:

"It's just, you're right. You've hit the nail on the head pretty much every time! And… Agghhh…"

"Hey, people don't like being told when they're wrong." Leni smiled. Mad Dawg put his face onto the table and let out a fake scream. However, half way through, he and Leni began laughing. Dawg thought it over then added: "So... you're doing this to atone for your past mistakes? Huh. Never been taken advantage of that way before..."

"What!? No!" Leni exclaimed, shocked by the accusation. "I would never!"

"Hey, I'm the best guy to do this to. You don't know me, you can write it off as being a 'friend' and no one would think anything of it." Mad Dawg reasoned. Leni was about to shout, but then stopped, remembering a pattern.

"You're messing with me. Aren't you?" Leni said flatly.

"No."

"Ugh… Bobby was right, you _are_ weird…" Leni admitted.

"Eh, I'm not _nearly _as bad as some of the things he told me about you." Dawg smirked. Leni's face drained of colour, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What."

"Oh, yeah. We talked on the way back to my place, he told me a lot about you." Mad Dawg continued, talking as if this was a casual conversation. When he looked back, he saw how genuinely furious Leni was. Mad Dawg stopped talking, deciding to see what was going to happen.

"I know you're lying to me. And I know you're trying to annoy me. And it's working. Why do you do this?" She said in a very quiet voice. "I'm trying to be nice to you."

"I was gonna add that what he told me about you was about how you were a really nice person." Mad Dawg smirked. "Anyhow, thanks for the coffee."

Leni laughed and shook her head. After living with Luan for so long, she really should have put together that Dawg was messing with her over and over.

"Later Mad Dawg!" She called.

"Later Lori!"

"It's Leni!"

"My bad!"

Back on the sidewalk, Mad Dawg felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He felt great! He hadn't felt this good since… wow. Since nearly a year ago… Whatever! Mad Dawg kept on a cursing, deciding to focus on the good this time. Before he had left, he checked to see what 'Taco Shack' had to offer, and was reading through the menu. Her found something called the 'TacoTaco' which was a taco inside a BIGGER taco. That was excessive, disgusting, and Mad Dawg was going to order five!

"_So… I gotta get to the street up there, then turn right, and then it's just up there." _He mused.

Looking up, Mad Dawg felt… content. The sun was brighter than before, the clouds were rolling gently, there was a baseball coming right towards him-

"Wait."

_**THUNK!**_

Disoriented and knocked to the ground, Mad Dawg groaned, feeling like the whole world was trying to stop him… He pulled himself up and looked around, rubbing his head, he hated when this happened… His healing factor could cure physical wounds, but stuff like headaches, hangovers, even colds? Nope.

"Ow…" He groaned. His vision blurry, the world spinning, Skorch purposely hurting him… "Yup. Things are back to normal…"

Pulling himself up, Mad Dawg picked up the baseball that had hit him and looked around, seeing he was next to a fence surrounding a baseball diamond. A young girl ran up and skidded to a sotp.

"Oh geez! Are you okay!?" She asked, nervously.

"Yeah… yeah…" Mad Dawg blinked, shaking his head. "I'm fine. It's cool."

"Lynn just… swung and hit it! We had no idea it'd go that far…"

"Wait. Lynn Loud?"

"Yeah. You know her?"

"Yeah, tell her I said hey." Mad Dawg nodded before wheeling back and throwing the ball back into the field. Due to the pain accidentally activated some of his more… hidden, powers. The ball went faster than intended, and shot across the length of the diamond and smashed into a large lamp post, denting the post as the ball landed into the diamond. There was a sort of shockwave that vibrated across the fencing surrounding the diamond. "…whoops."

Not waiting to stick around, Mad Dawg took off running. Margo blinked in surprise, seeing the newcomer run off, then tunring to see what had happened. During this, Lynn Jr. had run over and came to a stop.

"What happened?!"

"You hit someone." Margo said flatly.

"Ooh… I hope he's okay…"

"Yeah, he seemed fine." Margo shrugged. "But the arm on that guy!"

"Who was he?" Lynn Jr. asked.

"I didn't catch his name." Margo shook her head. "But he said he knew you. Weird guy with dirty blonde hair."

"Tall but kinda skinny?"

"Yeah."

"Seemed off kinda?"

"Not to be mean, but yeah."

"I know that guy." Lynn Jr. shrugged. "His name's Mad Dawg."

"Really?" Margo asked surprised as the two began walking back towards the others. "How old is he? We could totally use him on the team!"

"He's too old." Lynn Jr. lamented, agreeing with her friend. "But… he _could _come probably play a round some night!"

"That'd be awesome! We could go play at Coyote Field! If he's as strong a hitter as he is a thrower, he might end up knocking them outta the park."

"Alright, I'll ask him next time I see him." Lynn Jr. asked.

Mad Dawg had finally arrived outside the Royal Woods mall. He stood just in the entryway, looking around in a way that may make him look like a meth addict to anyone passing by. No one was running by screaming… No one was on fire… No one was driving a monster truck through the mall, terrorizing people… He was here. He was finally here… He sighed in relief as he walked over to the food court. Along the way, no one seemed to be walking across or in front of him, it was as if fate was wanting him to finally get the tacos he was after… He saw the sign for Taco Shack just ahead. Just below was another sign.

_We apologize for the inconvenience, but Taco Shack is currently closed for renovations. _

"…Damn it!" Mad Dawg cursed, somewhat loudly to himself. 


	6. The Quest For Tacos: Part 3

"Dude! He's right behind you!"

"What!? Where!"

"Left! He's to your left!"

"He's got a gun! You need to hide!"

"Wait! Where'd he go!?"

"Oh. C'mon man! Where'd that thing go!?"

"Aw dude…"

The words 'Round Lost' appeared on screen and Mad Dawg groaned in annoyance.

"Dude, that's the sixth round. How are you so good at this?!" He said, frowning and looking over to Lincoln.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, Dawg." Clyde smirked. "It's like the only thing he does in his spare time, play this and think about his crush."

"Clyde!"

"Whoa, dude. You've got a woman? Sweet!" Mad Dawg nodded approvingly with a grin. "So… how's that going?"

"Dawg. We're not… I mean…" Lincoln sputtered in annoyance. "We're not dating."

"Ah, so she's single?"

The two went silent, looking in shock at Dawg until Clyde spoke up again, seemingly almost frightened.

"If you _ever _say that to her, that healing factor of yours is gonna be working overtime." He said. Still to his credit, Mad Dawg laughed, shaking his head.

"Chill dude, I'm kiddin'." He said dismissively, before cracking open another can of Hydra.

"Did you have a girlfriend? Like, back in your world?" Lincoln asked, finding his voice. Mad Dawg quirked a brow before wiping his mouth.

"Nah… there was one girl I kinda had a crush on, but uh… yeah… let's just say that some women will say they don't care who you are but it's what inside that counts… but then when they see what's inside me… they go back on it."

"Ouch… sorry man." Clyde winced.

"Eh, it is what it is." Mad Dawg sighed. "The issue is, if you don't have someone who gets you, and I mean _really _gets you, you'll end up feeling depressed, lonely, and you'll never reach your goal weight because you eat when your sad."

Mad Dawg paused, before looking at the reader.

"This guy knows what I'm talkin' about." He remarked.

"Wait. You see them too?!" Lincoln asked in disbelief. His head jerking from Dawg, to the reader, then back to Dawg.

"Who? The readers? Yeah, I see em'." Mad Dawg asked before looking back to the audience. "I don't know how or why… but I've been able to talk to them and Skorch… I just tend not to 'cause people think I'm mental or something."

"I used to think Linc was nuts, but eventually I figured he was gonna keep doing it… So… If you two do it… I'm not gonna question it anymore."

"Great, 'cuase I ain't stopping anytime soon." Mad Dawg remarked.

"Lincoln! I need your help!" A young voice called from another room, cutting their conversation short. Lincoln blinked, and then sighed. Seeming to realize who was talking and what this was gonna lead to.

"Hang on…" He muttered, getting off the couch and leaving the room, leaving Dawg and Clyde alone. Needless to say, there was a bit of an awkward vibe hanging over the two. Neither one really looked at one another for a bit, until Dawg finally spoke.

"So… You uh, you and Lincoln known each other a long time?" He finally asked.

"Oh, yeah! We've known each other for years." Clyde smiled. "He's been my best friend… honestly my entire life. He's someone I know I can rely on, no matter what happens."

"Nice." Mad Dawg nodded. "So, do your parents know each other well? Like, your mom and Lincoln's mom go for coffee, or…" Mad Dawg trailed off when he saw Clyde looking at him with a mixture of amusement and realization. "What?"

"I have two dads." Clyde stated, then laughed at Mad Dawg's expression.

"Uh, sorry… I uh…" Mad Dawg stammered awkwardly.

"Hey, it's cool man. I never told you, and I don't _think_ you've been stalking me, so I doubt you would've seen them."

"Yeah, I've been stalking Lincoln the past while."

"What?"

"Nothing." Mad Dawg quickly answered jokingly. "Heh. Look, you can't tell anyone about this… Back home, there was this girl I met, and I really liked her. She was kinda like an older sister to me. Uh, I was gonna tell her how I felt. But then I met her girlfriend."

Clyde stared at him, then burst out laughing. Mad Dawg laughed and nodded, looking away embarrassed.

"Yeah, yeah… Laugh it up." He muttered. "Look, I'm a mutant designed to have supersonic senses and be able to shrug off bullet wounds, but I am _terrible _at social signs. I can't tell if someone is hitting on me, or if they're trying to tell me to piss off. And I sure as hell can't pick up on the intricacies of people, if you know what I'm getting at."

"Yeah, and no offence here Dawg, but you _really _come across like that." Clyde admitted.

"Wait. What?" Dawg asked, his laid-back personality waiving for just a moment as he leaned forward. "Dude, what? Be blunt with me here."

"When we first met, it was clear you were acting." Clyde began calmly. "You seem like and are a really nice guy. It's also _extremely _clear that you're not… 'normal' per say. But the past few times I've seen you, you seem to have adapted, or at least, moved on. It feels like when your happy around here, it isn't you trying to hide something, it's you being real. And I think you feel it, even if you can't tell that."

"Huh."

"But I'm not saying stop being weird, you're actually really funny when you act weird." Clyde quickly added.

"You should see me when I'm drunk."

"Aren't you sixteen?"

"Not according to my licence."

The two sat in silence for a few moments, then Dawg looked around.

"Hey, where'd Lugia go?" He asked.

"Oh… right." Clyde rolled his eyes. "I think Lola's making him help her with her outfits again…"

"Outfits for what? Isn't she like, seven?" Dawg asked.

"Six, and she does beauty pageants." Clyde answered, paused for a moment, then added: "Hey. Wanna go mess with them?"

"Oh, very much so." Mad Dawg said with a huge grin.

Lincoln was… in an odd position. This wasn't the first time Lola had dragged him into her pageant prep, and it wouldn't be the last. But when she was constantly going back and forth on if she should do hair, make-up or clothes first, and was pressed for time. Like she was now, as she had another pageant in four hours. She became almost… animalistic, and Lincoln didn't like being on the receiving end of it.

"If I do my hair, that'll take ten minutes, but then I need to be able to apply the correct blush, and _that _needs to coordinate with my nails, and if I can't figure out _those_, then I'm gonna be a mis-coloured mess! And if I'm a mis-coloured mess, the judges won't be able to see me for how I really am, and then…"

"Holy crap." Mad Dawg whispered, he and Clyde looking into the room. "And I thought Hana got crazy when I beat her high scores…"

Lincoln turned and looked at the two, his face screaming _HELP ME _as Lola went back and forth, still trying to figure out what was happening.

"…but should I do my face first? Or should I do it last?! And how am I gonna walk on?! Do I use the elegant style or the more confident one?!"

"Okay." Mad Dawg spoke, getting the pair's attention. "You, move." He said pointing to Lincoln, then pointing to Lola. "You, eyes, cheeks, hair."

"…what?"

Mad Dawg walked in and sat down, he was several feet taller than Lola, and now sat across form her. While the young beauty queen looked on hesitantly. She hadn't met Dawg much before, and he seemed very… off, the last time he was here. Then again, when someone stares off at nothing, falls to the ground, then stabs himself _and heals from it, _you might not immediately think 'Yeah, this guy knows what's going on.'

"Look, I've done a _LOT _of make-up and costuming stuff for festivals. If you're trying to get people's attention, the eyes are what they look at first." Mad Dawg explained, pulling out his phone and passing it to Lola, she looked in amazement at the picture of Mad Dawg, his face seeming like it was someone else's! His eyes had a dark shadow that seemed to end in fang-like points, and his hair was styled into neon green hair that was in quills of some sort. He wore the bottom half of a gas mask and a long overcoat, that seemed to be stitched together form other coats, and it worked…

"The look at your eyes, and if there's confidence in them, they'll feel it." Mad Dawg continued. "Then, your cheeks matter because after your eyes, they'll have a look at the rest of your face. Even if it's half-done, it's better than nothing, they most likely won't focus too much on your face as they'll move onto your hair. After that, they'll focus on your outfit."

Lincoln and Clyde watched slack-jawed as Lola passed Mad Dawg various make-up products and he was applying them while talking as if it was second nature.

"Here's the thing though. Outfits, and walk styles don't matter as much as you may think."

"What? How?!" Lola asked bewildered.

"Well, that's kind of a lie. They _do _matter, but if you walk in with confidence, something I'll assume you know about already, you can make them be amazed by _anything _you wear."

"Yes, but if the outfit isn't lined up with the rest of the style, I'll look all out of whack!" Lola protested. "And no offence, no amount of confidence would help me win looking like the stitched hobo monster you were dressed up as."

"Yo. Stitched hobo monster? Aw, I gotta remember that one." Mad Dawg chuckled. "Nah, but what I was getting at is this: if you're able to really, and I mean _REALLY _pull them in with your first few seconds on stage, you can make anything work! See, that's the beauty, pun intended, of eye shadowing, a good percentage of the time, it works with whatever outfit you've got, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan that ahead. And… Done!"

Lola opened her eyes and gasped slightly.

"This… is… AMAZING!" She squealed, her eyes widening, before suddenly hugging Mad Dawg. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Mad Dawg seemed caught off guard, looking to Lincoln, quietly asking 'What now?' Lincoln smirked and shrugged.

"Heh, don't mention it kid." Mad Dawg replied. "You know what you wanna do for the rest of this?"

"Uh… kinda…" She said, clearly trying to hide ulterior motives. "But… y'know… If you're not busy…"

"Let me grab some drinks, then yeah. Let's do this!" Mad Dawg smiled, jumping up to his feet. "Be right back!"

Once he was gone, Lola turned and half-glared half-stared in amazement.

"Linky… Why didn't you _TELL ME _he was some sort of make-up wizard!? I thought he was just some crazy guy you met on the street!"

"Well, I didn't know he could do all that." Lincoln admitted. "And if I did. I probably would've mentioned it."

"In his defense, he was never like 'Hey guys, I'm really good with make-up stuff!' he was more 'Hey, I can heal from lethal injures and am totally addicted to Hydra energy!' so…"

"I resent that!" Mad Dawg called, walking back into the room. "I'm not addicted."

He looked down at his bag, which was full of assorted Hydra Energy drinks.

"These are choices." He added, before looking to Lola. "You ready?"

"Yes!" Lola cheered.

"Alright, so. What's in style right now?" Mad Dawg asked.

About three hours elapsed, and Rita Loud was feeling very, _very _panicked right now. Her job had kept her from getting home sooner, and she knew that in an hour, Lola had one of her pageants. She had promised her daughter that she would help her prepare, and now she had less than an hour to do so. She didn't know how Lola would react when she got home, and she simply prayed her daughter wouldn't be too angry. Opening the door, she sighed and entered her home.

"Hi mom!" Lincoln waved.

"Hi Lincoln…" She sighed. "Is… Is Lola in her room?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. She's almost ready."

"I'm sorry. What?" Rita blinked in surprise. "Did… did she get ready on her own?"

"Uh, no. Mad Dawg stopped by a few hours ago to talk to Luna, we were playing some games, and Lola asked for my help with getting ready and-"

"Hi mommy! I'm ready to go!" Lola said chipperly, walking into the kitchen. Rita blinked as she looked at her daughter, she indeed was ready to go.

"Lola, did someone help you?" Rita asked.

"Yeah, it turns out Mad Dawg has done a bunch of make-up stuff in the past, he was a real help."

Mad Dawg walked by, drinking a Hydra Energy.

"Mrs. Loud." He nodded.

"Mad Dawg, thank you." Rita smiled, feeling relief beyond words. "If… if there's anything we can do for you, just-"

"You've done a lot for me already. It may not seem like it, but… Eh, I don't wanna drag everyone into this song and dance again." He looked to Lincoln and added: "Tell Lynn jr. I'll see her tonight at Coyote Field."

"Uh. Okay." Lincoln blinked. "What are you gonna do till then?"

"I dunno. Something stupid, probably." Mad Dawg shrugged, before leaving the Loud House and heading back to his place. As he walked, he stopped and walked back a few feet, looking up the store he was in front of.

"_Screw the law. I'm cruisin' in style." _Mad Dawg thought as he walked through the doors of the dealership.

About another hour later, Mad Dawg was elated. He finally, _FINALLY _had gotten a taco. He saved it the whole way home, and he had managed to be the last person in the store before it closed. Now, was getting his chair set up in the backyard, ready to enjoy his taco.

Flap

Mad Dawg whirled around, having sworn he heard something.

Nothing.

He sighed and poured a beer into his glass filled with ice. He had found this new type of Ale, called 'Critical Rolling Rock'.

Flap

He turned around agitated, expecting to see something.

Nothing.

"Skorch. I swear if you're screwing with me…"

He sighed and sat down in his un chair, pulling his glasses onto his face. Finally, maybe this story was getting to a calmer lull, maybe he could start trying to find a way home! He reached for his taco, which he had put next to him.

Nothing.

"Wait."

Looking up into the sky, Mad Dawg's face warped to one of pure, uncontrolled hatred. A bird was flying away, holding his taco in its talons. Maybe it was because he had been shot over a taco, or maybe because the reason he had died/got sent to another dimension was because of a group called 'Talon', but Dawg was just pissed. As he stood up, Mad Dawg spun his crossbow in a circle, opening it and getting it into its primary form. He loaded and arrow, pulled it back until it clicked, and then he squeezed the trigger.

_**Shulk**_

"Caw!"

The bird cried out in pain as the arrow found it's mark, and went right through the bird, killing it mid-flight. He didn't know where it was going to land, and frankly he didn't care. He picked up his beer and skulkingly chugged it.

_Later that night… _

Coyote Field was once supposed to be Royal Woods most pristine park and baseball diamond. A place where families could come and enjoy the warm sun, green grass, and watch a game every now and then. The plans had been to have small food vendors around the park, and once there were plans to build an amphitheatre for live shows. If all went as planned, it could be not only a massive source of income, but would also help the community of Royal Woods grow.

For some reason, this wasn't meant to be. If you looked into the town's history, there wasn't some sort of horrible accident, or some sort of murder, people just seemed… uninterested. The park was never completed, and the trees planted had gradually grown into a forest which itself seemed almost… half-baked. It wasn't a forest that grabbed one's attention, if anything, it almost seemed like a forest in a horror movie. Well, that wasn't _exactly _fair, it wasn't _that_ bad, but it was close. The only things that were finished was the baseball diamond, which itself was treaded, clearly worn with exposure, but the flood lights still worked, and there were bleachers, and an outhouse.

"So, you really think this Dog-Kid is some sort of super baseball player?" Lincoln's friend Rusty, asked. He, Clyde, Lincoln and Bobby's sister Ronnie Ann had agreed to come with Lynn Jr. to Coyote Fields, mostly because there was nothing else to do.

"Oh, yeah. You should've seen what I saw!" Margo nodded, still wondering if what she saw was real.

"I don't know about his sport skills, but he's a weird guy." Lincoln shrugged. "Still, he's a good dude."

"Eh, I haven't even met him, and you make him sound like some sort of escaped mental patient."

The group set their gear down, and Lynn Jr. went off to the control room. It took her a few minutes to finally get the power up and running, and then a few more to get the lights on. But soon enough, the field was lit up in yellow-whiteish light.

"So… where is he?" Rusty finally asked, seeing that they were still the only ones around. Clyde was about to reply, but then an engine was faintly heard. The sound grew progressively louder, until a small white light seemed to be rapidly approaching.

_VvrrRRvRRvvrrr! _

A black and yellow ATV made its presence known as it tore across the remains of the public park. As it came into the light, lime green accents reflected the flood lights. Mad Dawg smirked as he shot into the diamond and grabbed the break, aggressively drifting to a stop. His ATV briefly leaving the ground on one side before landing back on the ground.

"Yo." Mad Dawg waved as he got off the ATV, taking his hat off and letting his long hair flow.

"Since when do you have an ATV?" Lincoln said, asking the obvious question.

"Since four hours ago." Mad Dawg answered. "So, we hittin' balls tonight?"

There was no response, but there were supressed laughs.

"I'm not apologizing. That was funny."

"No one said it wasn't!"

"Sweet."

For the next twenty minutes, the groups took turns hitting and pitching. Lynn Jr. had the best distance for hitting a baseball (surprising no one) and Mad Dawg had a surprisingly fast pitch. Heck it had even caught Lynn Jr. off guard a few times. Mad Dawg and Rusty seemed to get off on the right foot, with Rusty playing off of Mad Dawg's eccentricates in a mixture of sarcasm and deadpan snark. He honestly seemed like a small Mad Dawg in some regards, but less mutant-y to be fair. Ronnie Ann still seemed hesitant around him, but hey, one outta two, right?

"Hey! Doggo! You're up!" Lynn Jr. called, Mad Dawg nodded and grabbed a bat, cracking his shoulders as he approached home plate. Lynn threw the ball, Mad Dawg swung, and…

Strike

Those watching seemed rather… disappointed. Still, miss once, hit second, right?

"Okay, actually HIT the ball!" Lynn called, picking up another ball. She pitched, Dawg swung…

Ting!

He hit the ball with a slight spin on the bat, and the ball went up, and not very far away. Landing in the dugout.

"Are you trying!?"

"Yeah."

Lynn sighed, casting an annoyed look to Margo. The other girl shrugged, bewildered.

Another pitch, another swing, and… Well, it at least got some distance. But once again, it wasn't what everyone had been expecting or had seen before.

"_Okay, enough fun…" _He thought with a grin. "Hey! I needed to warm up! Let's do this one more time!"

"Fine, but you'd better show _some _sort of talent! If you're a mutant, couldn't they have given you some sorta super soldier juice?!"

"Wait." Rusty blinked.

"He's a… he's a mutant?" Margo finished.

"Yeah." Lincoln nodded.

"I thought Bobby was making that up…" Ronnie said, her feelings shifting to distrustful instead of apprehension.

"That's awesome!" Rusty breathed.

Mad Dawg paused, taking a few deep breaths. He never sure if he knew how to activate his other side or not, so he figured he'd just to this the way he usually did. He bit his lip, and then clawed his arm. He felt a pins and needles feeling in his stomach, and knew it was waking up. He bit his lip a bit harder, and felt his spine begin to ache. No, no… he didn't need _all _of it…

"Hey, is he tripping balls right now or something?" Rusty asked, pointing to Dawg who seemed to be sporadically twitching.

Lynn Jr. blinked, then shrugged. She took a stance and wheeled back, Mad Dawg growled loudly feeling a sharp, almost stabbing-like pain in his arm.

"_Here we go." _

Lynn Jr. whipped the ball towards Dawg, the mutant grinned, swung, and-

_**CRACK!**_

He swung with such force that when the ball and bat contacted one another, the aluminum bat shattered, and the ball was sent flying. The kids watching dropped whatever they were holding as the ball shot forth with such speed that it seemed more like a bullet. The ball continued upwards, and smashed through the old scoreboard sending a shower of sparks in all directions. The scoreboard briefly lit up as the weird electrical surge gave it power, and then it quickly died. Everyone turned and looked to Mad Dawg in utter disbelief.

"Holy crap!" Lynn Jr. shouted.

"**C'mon!" **Mad Dawg growled, his voice distorting in terms of pitch. **"Gimmie another!" **

_**CRACK!**_

Another ball was shot upwards like a shooting star, smashing one of the flood lights on the upper right hand side before shooting off into the forest. What was even more amusing or amazing depending on who you asked, was that Dawg hit the second ball with the broken bat with one hand. Speaking of which, Dawg looked at the bat and blinked.

"**Uh… my bad." **

Without warning, Mad Dawg tore off at inhuman speeds, running entirely around the diamond several times, before skidding to a stop, raising a giant dust cloud.

"Agh… wow…" Mad Dawg muttered, feeling his arms going back to normal. He turned and looked at the group, no one speaking for a long while.

"Uh. Okay…"

"Dude! That was AWESOME!" Rusty shouted, the amazement and disbelief clear in his voice. "How'd you do that!?"

"Mutant… strength… I think." Mad Dawg replied, not feeling like discussing the whole story right now. "Oh boy…. I uh, I need a sec."

Mad Dawg seemed to almost drunkenly walk to one of the benches and sat down, his head spinning as a result of what had happened. So, he did what he always did when he needed to focus. He cracked open a tall boy and took a long drink.

"Hey, Dawg. You good?" Lincoln asked, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Mad Dawg nodded. "Just… doing that… it takes a lot out of me."

"Fair."

"You guys seem really calm about a guy who just broke a scoreboard and snapped a bat in half by hitting a ball." Ronnie Anne remarked, now knowing that what her brother had told her wasn't a lie.

"I've seen him do weirder." Clyde shrugged.

"Like what?" Rusty asked, curious.

"He stabbed his hand and healed like it was nothing."

"Hey, Ma-"

"No. I'm not doing it now!" Mad Dawg called, flipping the group off. "Do you have any idea how painful it is to drive a knife through bone and muscles!?"

"…fair point."

During all this, Dawg didn't notice Lynn Jr. giving him an… unusual look. If Dawg had been paying attention, he probably would've seen a mixture of resentment and jealousy. Lynn was frustrated if she was honest, how could she compete with… THAT!? Even her best days seemed like nothing but warm-up to Mad Dawg! He had just rode in here, shattered every record she set, and it seemed to only make him a little bit dizzy.

"_I mean, he IS a mutant…" _She thought. _"But if Lincoln wasn- No. Stop. We're not doing that again. Maybe it was just a lucky swing, and he's not really that powerful." _

"Hey." Margo said, shaking Lynn's shoulder to get her attention. "Don't let this get to you."

"I'm not." Lynn replied flatly.

"Yes, you totally are." Margo smirked. "You have that look on your face. Besides, I'm pretty sure this Dawg guy couldn't join any team and pull a stunt like that without someone accusing him of steroids. I get you like to be the best, and you still are."

"Really? How?"

"You're the best _human _player I know." Margo remarked. "Don't forget. _MUTANT." _She said pointing to Dawg. "_HUMAN._" She finished, pointing to Lynn. "If I had to guess, his strength probably isn't because of training or skill, but the way he was made."

That actually made a lot of sense. Mad Dawg was clearly insanse when it came to power, but how much of that was actual strength? He had failed several times to even hit the ball before tweaking out and going nuts. So why WAS she feeling this way? She was still better than him at this! That much was obvious.

"_Unless he really IS that strong." _

"Yo! We're gonna go burn some stuff! You comin'?" Dawg called. The girls looked to one another, then nodded.

While Mad Dawg dragged a bunch of rocks to make a circle, Rusty and Clyde brought a bunch of sticks and dead leaf's to burn. Mad Dawg was messing with his lighter, but Ronnie created a spark and got the fire going faster than Dawg expected.

"If I had some gas, I coulda done that." He remarked.

"None of us trust you with gas." Lincoln flatly said. "I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't trust you with a knife."

"Eh, their loss."

"Dude. You stabbed yourself and bled on the carpet!"

"I cleaned it up!"

"But you _STAB- _Never mind." Lincoln muttered.

"So, anyone got any good ghost stories?" Rusty asked.

For the next while the group swapped tales, stories about spirits, monsters, cryptics, demons and other Lovecraftian monsters were told. The stories themselves range from hilariously unfrightening to spine-freezing unsettling. Mad Dawg kept quiet, he had horror stories, but they weren't ones he wanted to tell. Sure, he could tell stories about the black-cloaked, owl-masked monster that haunted him for years, but most of those stories ended up Dawg having his intestines blown out. But on the other hand, there was the terror of Junkinstine, the tales of the Banshee of the woods, the Slasher, or the rivalry of the Demon Hunter and the Witch.

"Hey, you got any stories?" Clyde asked, looking to Mad Dawg. "You're from another dimension, right?"

"Yeah." Mad Dawg nodded, ignoring the shocked looks the others who didn't know were giving him. Mad Dawg thought for a minute, until finally he spoke. "Anyone here spiritual?"

"Like religious?" Margo asked, confused.

"I mean, I guess, like… ugh. Never mind." Mad Dawg shook his head with a wave.

"C'mon man, what are you getting at?"

"Anyone of you know the seven deadly sins?" Mad Dawg asked. This got a bit of silence as the group thought it over.

"Wrath." Ronnie Ann remarked.

"Lust." Clyde nodded.

"Pride?" Lynn Jr. asked.

"Gluttony." Rusty continued the chain.

"Greed." Lincoln said.

"Envy." Mad Dawg added.

"Yeah. And Sloth." Margo concluded. "What about them?"

"Well, this is a story my family used to tell me." Mad Dawg began. "The seven deadly sins are to some, nothing but temptations of the mind. Others believe that they were demons who escaped the afterlife and feed off of the chaos and sinful nature of the world. But the story I was told, was that they aren't spirits. They're people."

"Like, demons who possessed people?" Rusty asked. Mad Dawg looked at him, then shrugged.

"I dunno. But here's the story. Each sin is embodied by a person who exemplifies, embodies and embraces that sin to the extreme. The catch is, the sin carrier could be killed, but only by someone who was more extreme than the last."

"Like a world record holder." Lincoln said aloud. "But for bad stuff."

"Like a politician." Rusty snarked.

"Kinda, yeah. That's pretty close. But until that happens, the current embodiment will live forever." Mad Dawg nodded. "So, let's start with Greed. It seems like the sin carrier would be tempted and corrupted by money, but that's not entirely true. See, _greed_ isn't just for money, it's the want of more, and that more can be anything. So, the legend goes that a woman longed to know how the world worked, to know everything about everyone. Some believe she was a criminal who would use this knowledge to force people to do what she wanted, and others claim that she was just addicted to explanations, especially things that had no explanation."

Mad Dawg paused to take a drink and read the room (or campfire). He noticed that there was interest, but they weren't hooked yet. Good…

"Now, knowledge in and of itself is good." He continued. "It can be used to help people, to change the world! But to this woman, it was never enough."

"Did she have a name?" Ronnie Ann asked.

"…Shadow." Mad Dawg answered. "Supposedly."

"Hm."

"Anyhow, she longed to know how the world itself worked, how the forces or reality came to be, it became her life. If you're thinking that she made some sort of Faustian bargain, that isn't what happened. She traveled the world from the highest mountains to the deepest caves, places no one knew existed. In the end… she succeeded."

"What?" Was collectively asked.

"Mmhmm." Dawg nodded through his drink. "She found the answers of which she sought. She knew more than anyone could ever comprehend. But, in some places, knowledge… knowledge is power."

Dawg paused, tossing some sticks onto the fire.

"See, she knew everything about this world, she knew how we came to be, she knew everything about everyone who ever lived. She knew what people were thinking about doing, even if _they _didn't know yet. With all that knowledge, people wanted to know answers to questions that seemed unanswerable. Stuff like cures for illnesses, when they would die, how to fix problems in their lives, or even how to fix problems with earth. They paid her, and she was revered as the most powerful woman alive."

"No offense Dawg, I don't really see how this ties into greed." Margo spoke up. Dawg just looked at her and smirked.

"I'm just gettin' to that." He replied. "So, when you have all that knowledge, and by extension, all that power. There's really only one thing to fear. Losing it. And Shadow began to fear that by giving people the answers they sought, she was giving up her power. She disappeared from the public eye, people spending months or years searching for her, wither to save someone they loved, or for whatever other reason they had. Still, it didn't matter. Shadow remained well, in the shadows, no pun intended. With all the answers she had given away, she felt desperate to replace that knowledge with something no one knew. Finally, she turned to the only place left for any sort of questions or answers. The afterlife."

Taking another quick read of the reactions, he noted that they seemed MUCH more interested now.

"So, she set off to find the afterlife, to find answers to questions no one could solve. But this wasn't driven by a sense of wonder or a purist of scholarly reasoning, it was fueled by her obsession for information. For power."

"Sorry, but… couldn't people just find the places she had found?" Lynn Jr. asked. "Wouldn't that mean someone else knew this information?"

"Well, yes. Actually." Mad Dawg nodded. "But that comes later. I'll tell you this. If your desperate to hide something, the dead don't speak."

Lynn Jr. was about to ask what that meant, when she realized what Dawg was implying.

"She traveled along a path that some consider limbo, and others would consider a test of faith. The path one's soul travels after death, before it's judged to be pure or wicked. However, she wasn't dead, so she couldn't go to either place. So, she walks that eternal path, driven by greed and no longer able to stop. Any supplies she brought long since gone, her body in a, sorta… walking coma, so to say. But her mind forever afraid of being outsmarted, driving her forward, towards and answer she can never find." Mad Dawg concluded, then paused. "Now, to answer your question about the hidden places, yeah. Someone else could stumble upon them, and they themselves may be driven onto the same path, or they may simply ignore the knowledge and continue onwards. But someday, somehow, some_one_ will find themselves on a journey. Driven by a want for wealth, or the quest of knowledge or even to keep something as small as a rock away from someone else."

"Wait. A rock?" Lincoln asked, clearly finding that last part hard to believe.

"Yeah. A rock." Mad Dawg nodded. "These feelings have been around since mankind was first created, or evolved or… you get the point. But in a time when no one has anything, the things you can get your hands on become the most precious items imaginable. And you'd do _anything _to keep someone from getting their hands on it. Even if it consumes your life."

The only sound that followed was the chirping of crickets off in the distance, and the crackling of the fire burning.

"Wow." Clyde finally blinked. "That… that was creepy."

"And yet kind of amazing." Lynn Jr. added.

"So, all seven of the sins are people?" Ronnie Ann asked.

"That's the story." Mad Dawg nodded.

"What would happen if one of them was killed, but there _wasn't _a replacement. Or… what if they relented?"

The group turned to Mad Dawg, who seemed as relaxed as ever.

"Well, that's where the story gets… Iffy." He confessed. "See, there's been a few different versions of it told throughout the years. But the key factor in it is that the sin carrier can only die when they're surpassed by another. But some stores tell that the sin carriers can die before that would happen, or can be forgiven and put to rest. The story went that if that happened, then the world would be rid of that feeling. The catch being, the only way the sin carrier can be put to rest, is if _they _forgive themselves, and can be forgiven by those they hurt."

"Ooh. So, the odds of that ever happening…" Ronnie Ann began.

"…nearly impossible." Mad Dawg finished.

"So, there's some sorta story for all seven?! What are the others like!?" Lincoln spoke up, the excitement clear in his voice.

"Dude, if I tell you all seven, we'll be here all night." Mad Dawg answered flatly, getting boo'd by the others. "Alright! Alright! Fine! I'll tell you one more… then we can meet up here tomorrow or something?"

"I'm in!" Lincoln nodded.

"Definitely!" Margo added.

"Same here!" Rusty grinned.

This continued until the whole group had agreed on a time for tomorrow night, to return and continue hearing the stories that Dawg had to tell. But he wasn't quite done just yet… As he began, he sighed deeply, seeming saddened by what was on his mind.

"When you think about the seven sins, 'sympathy' is almost never a word you think about in context to those who became the sin carriers." He began, his tone more somber. "But… if there was any of the seven I felt true pain for, it would be Gluttony."

Mad Dawg added some fuel to the fire before beginning. Due to the dark night sky and the small fire, only part of Dawg's face was visible, roughly a third. And maybe because of the constant flickering light, his scars were much more noticeable, especially the one across his eye.

"So, the stories can be told in many different ways, they're like urban legends. So, keep that in mind as I tell you all this." He began. "This is the version _I _was told."

"Okay."

"The story deals with a woman-" Mad Dawg began.

"Are they _all _females?" Ronnie Ann cut in, clearly annoyed.

"No. Three of em' are. The other four are men. But the gender had nothing to do with the story. You could flip em' around and not much would be changed." Mad Dawg shook his head. "Anyhow, this woman wasn't born into a high social class. They say she grew up in an impoverished home. But as she grew, she worked hard, she took multiple jobs and built a life for her and her family. She pulled them out of the class they were born into, and raised them to the high class none of them ever believed they could be in. From there, she met a man and they married. Now, anything she wanted she could have. Surprisingly, she wasn't greedy, and she wasn't prideful. She had the finest clothes, the finest drinks, the finest food and the finest, well, the finest life."

"Okay." Someone commented.

"But in time, these things she had, the drinks, the social standing, she lost the traits of the woman who got her here, and she became absorbed by the upper-class lifestyle. See, the unhappy truth is, every single incarnation of Gluttony fell for the same thing."

"Food." Was collectively said.

"Exactly." Mad Dawg nodded. "So, this woman, she found that she was happiest when she was dining on the most expensive foods, and enjoying the most expensive wines. Because of this, that was all she would eat. If she wasn't happy, she ate, if she was happy, she ate. I know this sounds like a disorder of some sort, but keep in mind this was in a time when even if that _was _what she was dealing with, no one knew how to treat it."

"What happened to her?" Clyde asked.

"She kept eating, almost non-stop." Mad Dawg frowned. "She believed that she should be happy every moment of every day, and she believed that indulging in excess would bring her that happiness. She knew nothing but food, she knew nothing but excess, and it ruined her life. You could say it was because of her drastic weight change or because of her uncontrollable habits, but she became… Never mind. I think you get the idea."

"Compared to greed, that doesn't seem too bad, lik-" Margo began.

"I'm not done." Mad Dawg cut in. "See, what tore her apart was that one day, she saw the one thing she couldn't have excess of. Beauty."

"Isn't that lust?" Rusty asked.

"Not exactly, but I'll explain that another time." Mad Dawg shook his head. "This woman… she saw her husband with another woman. One who reminded her of herself, when she first pulled herself up into the higher class. She was devastated, and did the only thing she now knew. She kept eating, hoping that this would solve her problems, until she finally realized what she wanted more than anything."

"To be beautiful." Lincoln said.

"Yeah." Dawg said in a quiet tone. "So, she did the only thing she could think of. She stopped eating, altogether."

"But… that would kill her!" Lynn exclaimed. "Even if she would lose some weight, the overall exertion on her body would kill her!"

"But it wouldn't." Dawg shook his head. "Remember what I said at the beginning? The only way to be free, is to be surpassed."

"So… what happened to her?" Rusty asked, now wanting to know how this ended. Dawg seemed downcast once again, but even more than before.

"Well, one day she saw the woman she had seen her husband with. And she saw that she too was being dragged into the pit of excess she was trapped in. Eventually, she was finally able to be freed from her curse, but no one knows what happened to the other woman."

"…man. That sucks." Lincoln finally said after a long silence. "So that's it? She's cursed to live forever because of something out of her control?"

"No. All the sins are _choices_." Dawg replied. "Some more so than others, and while some may be amplified by conditions or circumstances in one's life, at the end of the day, it's a choice. But the story of gluttony does have a hopeful ending."

"Really?" Margo asked. "I'll be honest, I could use that right about now…"

"See, the woman was in pain because of what she did to herself, but she didn't hurt anyone because of it, aside from herself." Mad Dawg explained. "Now… this is going back to the whole 're-telling and translation' thing I brought up at the beginning. One version I know simply has her forgive herself and when she passes, she's taken to heaven. The other version-"

"She goes to the other place?" Lynn asked, clearly believing she knew where this was going, and not liking it.

"No." Dawg simply said, surprising everyone. "The other ending, I was told was that she was given a second chance. She was given a new body and sent to that night when she met the second woman after she began to fall into that pit. She was able to save her from the nightmare she had experienced, but someone, somewhere else wouldn't be as lucky."

"But if someone forgave themselves and could be freed, they could be a guardian angel to another?" Clyde surmised.

"Maybe." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Still, that's those two down… let's meet up another time, I'll tell you the rest."

The small group nodded in agreement, knowing they should head home before their parents got freaked out about them being gone at night. As they packed up, Dawg remained where he was watching the fire.

"Hey." Lincoln said, walking up to him. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." Dawg said, looking up at the white-haired boy. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Okay, cool." Lincoln gave a thumbs-up as he left. "Just wanted to make sure."

Soon, Mad Dawg was alone, a single light still on at the abandoned diamond, illuminating where he had parked his ATV. Mad Dawg reached for his bag, debating on something, but then stopped, shaking his head. He wasn't ready.

There was a twisted metallic sound off in the distance, and when Dawg looked up, he saw a figure standing in the woods looking at him. Mad Dawg knew who it was, and he wasn't real.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Mad Dawg quietly said as he kicked dirt onto the fire before pouring water over it. As the smoke rose, Mad Dawg walked back into the baseball diamond, looking at the shattered scoreboard as he walked to the control room. Turning off the lights, Mad Dawg climbed aboard his ATV and kicked the engine off. He cast one last glance to the forest, but didn't see anything. Revving his engine, Mad Dawg drove off down the dirt path that lead through the abandoned park, heading home.

"_That's such a weird feeling…" _He mused as he drove. _"Am… Am I really home? I mean, it kinda feels like it. Maybe… maybe this is home. A new home." _

He let his mind wander as his drove down the road back towards his place, thinking about all he had been through in the past month, and all in all, it was pretty good.

And Mad Dawg was just fine with that.


	7. The Quest For Tacos: The Finale

"C'mon Lisa! It's just over here!"

"Slow down! I'm… not… as… fast…"

Lana skidded to a stop, looking back to where her younger sister was gradually catching up with her. Lori was walking behind the two, making sure they didn't get hurt, but Lana had claimed she found 'something Lisa needed to explain' just in the woods and had effectively _dragged _her here.

"Hey, Lana?" She called. "How much further is it? I don't want you two going too deep into the woods, there's a lotta stuff out there that can hurt you. And I don't want to explain to dad why you're bleeding like crazy again."

"Aw, c'mon Lori! I've been here before." Lana rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. Lori gave her a look and the tomboy nodded. "It's just up here."

The three made their way over a fallen tree, past some thickets, and finally came out to a clearing. The ground had been treaded down, and the dirt was clearly moved about, and the leaves seemed to be piled into some sort of pile. Lori frowned, had Lana found some weird hobo's squatting zone? She really, _really _didn't want either of them to get hurt on needles…

"Alright Lana, you dragged me away from my work, refuse to tell me what's happening, so what is so important that you had to drag… us… out…" The brainiac grumbled, but began to trail off in shock when she saw what Lana was pointing to. Two trees just up ahead had large, no, _MASSIVE _marks on them, as if some sort of giant talon had slashed them and not just the bark, but the wood down to near the core of the tree seemed outright ripped out from its place. She had no idea what this was… granted, she wasn't a zoologist as much as a chemist, but she knew enough to know that this… this wasn't anything she knew about.

"Here it is!" Lana declared, moving in a 'ta-da' way as she pointed to the large marks. "I have no idea what could've done this, do you?"

"..n..no…" Lisa muttered, taking her glasses off and cleaning them. Lori felt her eyes widen then her body tense in apprehensive fear, or flight or fight. She knew they needed to go, _now. _This looked like some sort of super-bear had torn through the place, and if it was still out here, they needed to alert the authorities.

"And it gets weirder! C'mon!" Lana exclaimed, running off down a path.

"Lana! Stop!" Lori yelled running after her sister. "This thing could still be out here!"

Lana had stopped, and was now walking back-and forth along two rows of trees opposite from one another. At first, the two other Louds had no idea what Lana was on about now, but then they saw it. The… marks, for lack of a logical explanation, got smaller, and smaller, and then they stopped.

"So, do ya think there's some sort of monster out here?!" Lana asked, seeming _way _to excited about the prospect of a dangerous creature being very near their town.

"Lana, monster do not scientifically exist." Lisa spoke in a flat tone. "These markings could've just as easily been made by someone with a knife or machete-"

"Why?" Lana cut her off.

"…uh, perhaps there filming some sort of independent horror film out here, I don't know." Lisa tried to think of an explanation. "But there is no such thing as monsters, and whatever did this…"

She trailed off, not able to think of an answer. She would be lying if she claimed that seeing these markings, which seemed like either claw, talon or some sort of weapon didn't make her _very _nervous. But at the same time, her scientific side had to know. What did this?

"Okay we're leaving." Lori said sternly. "We don't know what made these marks, or if it's just some elaborate prank. But we're going. Now."

"But Lori!"

"Now!" Lori snapped, a bit harsher than she intended, but she also wanted her sister's safe, and that meant getting away from this. She may have to send a message to the police force or something… or maybe just keep her sisters from returning her for a long while. Lana's head dropped, clearly disappointed, but she didn't argue. She sulked back towards the clearing and Lori turned to her other sister. "Lisa?"

"Yes, I'm coming." Lisa said, deep in thought, looking around them. Something was here, there was something she was missing. Through the naturally occurring umbrella of leaf's that had begun to falter due to the change in seasons, Lisa saw something reflect the sun's rays. She walked over and picked it up, recoiling in shock.

"Lisa! Are you okay!?"

"Yes… it… it was a spider." Lisa lied shaking her head. She quickly put what she had found into her pocket and followed her oldest sister away from here. As she looked back, she realized what they had been missing, and they had potentially messed up their best lead.

"_There were tracks leading towards here." _The young Loud pondered. _"That's why the dirt was all messed up, whatever did this was trying to cover it's path. And we just walked all over it…" _

Still, she had a piece of the larger puzzle, and while it was outweighed by her curiosity for answers, she had a very bad feeling in her gut. A feeling that warned not to go deeper, and a feeling she knew she was going to ignore…

_Somewhere across town…_

_Ding… _

"Hm? Oh, hey kid."

"Hey, Mr. Trejo." Mad Dawg said with a slight wave.

"Hey Dawg." Bobby nodded, and Mad Dawg's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yo! Santiago!" He grinned. "Long time no see, how you doin'?"

"Hey, uh… you okay? Like, they were sayin' you got shot or something. I appreciate what you did an' all, but I don't want you getting hurt man." Mr. Trejo asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to second that." Bobby nodded with a slight grimace. "I'm fine, but, how are you?"

"Eh, I'm fine, really." Mad Dawg shrugged. "It's no big deal, I'm alive, it's all cool."

"Yeah, but… Look, I don't know _why _you did it or really what happened after the cops showed up, but again, thank you. I mean that." Mr. Trejo exhaled with a frown.

"Heh, it's fine Mr. Trejo." Mad Dawg calmly sat down on one of the raised chair-stools at a counter and sighed, taking his hat off and letting his hair breathe. He needed to get it cut… Whatever, that could wait for another day.

"So, what'll it be?" The older man asked.

"Let's see… Two of the Taco pie…ratas? And two of the Nachos Tacos."

"Pirata, there's no 'E' in it." Mr. Trejo corrected him, and Dawg chuckled embarrassed.

"Sorry… Apparently my dad came from Tijuana, but I don't really know the language, he spoke English most of the time."

"Yeah, I can tell." Trejo chuckled. "When you ran off, I heard you yell 'Mios Dios' or something like that, it's 'Dios Mios', kid, you change the placement."

"Wait, really?" Bobby laughed, looking to Mad Dawg who seemed to hunch downwards defensively.

"I just had a door slammed in my face, sorry for not getting the structure of a statement right while I was running after a guy who robbed the place!" Mad Dawg muttered shaking his head.

"Whoa, easy there niño, I didn't mean anything by it." Mr. Trejo replied raising his hands.

"Sorry… sorry… That was my bad." Mad Dawg admitted sheepishly. "I've been going through a lotta stuff recently, and that was wrong to take it out on you."

"Take it out… Kid, what the hell are you talking about?" Mr. Trejo outright laughed. "You think you took something out on me? Kace, I've been through _so _much worse, don't worry. If you take something out on me. I'll let you know." He said the last part with a joking edge, and Mad Dawg tried to hide his laugh.

"It is 'Kace' right? Or is it 'Chase' and we misheard it?" Bobby asked, working on the food for Mad Dawg. He didn't notice Mad Dawg bite his lip and consider something. _Technically _and _Legally _his name was now Kace Horatio Constantine, but his real name was, and always would be, Mad Dawg.

"Yeah, it's 'Kace'." Mad Dawg finally replied. "I don't know _how _but my friends gave me the nickname 'Mad Dawg' when I was little. I seriously can't remember how I got the name. But I think It had something to do with a dirt bike…"

"It seems like one of those nicknames you either got for absolutely no reason, or there was an incident with a dog, a can of gasoline, a trampoline, and a hacksaw." Mr. Trejo smirked. Mad Dawg and Bobby looked at him in a 'Uh, what?' way. "Hey, my life is my life."

It felt weird and somewhat wrong lying to Mr. Trejo, but… Was he lying? No, people had aliases, right? Maybe that's what this was. Besides, so long as he was stuck in this dimension, he wasn't the crazy, chainsaw wielding hero who had constant existential crises which dragged a story down and really ruined the flow and tone of what was meant to be a light-hearted comedic story back where he came from. Here, well, here he had a new life. And he knew he was going to royally screw it up eventually, so why not take the time and enjoy it while it lasted?

"_Wait. What was that part about me royally screwing this up?" _Mad Dawg thought looking up to the author. _"Hello?" _

Silence.

Huh…

"_What?" _

I dunno, usually he shows up at this point. Or she. I've never actually met them.

"_Wait, you're the one saying I'm gonna ruin this! What are you going on about!?" _

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there Dawg. I'm just reading what was given to me.

"_Including this exchange?"_

…actually, yeah.

"_Where is this even going!?" _

I dunno.

"_Wait, if you've never met the author, why are you here?" _

Honestly? I saw an ad for some narration work, and figured why not? I wasn't doing anything better.

Bobby and Trejo looked to one another and blinked. The older man pointed to Mad Dawg, and Bobby shrugged in confusion with a shake of his head. He clearly had no idea what was happening.

**Hey? **

Oh, good. There he is.

"_Dude, WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M GONNA SCREW THIS UP!?" _Mad Dawg shouted at the author.

**I don't know. I haven't planned that far ahead, but **_**something **_**has to go wrong eventually, otherwise it's a really boring story. **

"_I hate you." _

**I know.**

"KACE!"

"Gah?!" Mad Dawg jumped suddenly being ripped back into reality. He looked around, then saw the food in front of him.

"Kace, you okay man? You just zoned out for like, two minutes."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I dunno what happened." Mad Dawg shook his head, before looking down. "AWESOME!"

He set to eating his food. There were a few others in the resturaunt, and some of them recognized him from the recent 'incident', and decided to leave him be. Mad Dawg felt like a massive weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He ate his Pirata's in peace, enjoying the jacked-up tacos, but constantly casting a glance over his shoulder at nothing, believing some sort of monster would break through the window and shoot him, or worse, take his food. He kept chewing, and winced in pain.

"Too hot for you?" Mr. Trejo joked.

"No, I wiped out last night driving around on my ATV…" Mad Dawg admitted, seeming embarrassed. "I nearly knocked one of my teeth out, but it broke off near the base. The doctor's said I'll live, but I'll probably have to get it out and replaced or whatever…"

"Ah, that must've hurt." Bobby muttered, wincing somewhat.

"Oh yeah. It hurt like a monster…" Mad Dawg muttered, picking up the nacho tacos and eating them. They were amazing. He and Bobby caught up, talking about anything really. Bobby mentioned that Lori and Dawg had gotten coffee (with Dawg joking that maybe she was playing them) and his reaction had been genuinely shocking.

"Look, I love her, but she's not smart enough to make it work for more than a week."

"Dude!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, laughing. The pair continued talking for another ten minutes, Mad Dawg munching on the last bits of his food. This was it, he was happy. He didn't need anything else right now. He felt like his life's journey was at an end, that this could be where he remained until he moved on… In fact, this _is _where he would remain until it was his time to move on. He had seen all he needed to, he had done all he needed to. Now, he could let his mild slip into a paradise as he enjoyed the fruits of his labors.

Ten minutes later Mad Dawg got bored and left to do something, so he paid for his food and hit the road. As he walked, he passed by a music store, and heard a metallic whining sound that made him wince in pain. He looked around and saw that the six albums on display had changed, and he felt fear grip his body as he saw what they now read:

_Murderer. _

_You lied to them. _

_You lied to yourself. _

_You will never be free. _

_You cannot run. _

_This is a Virus you can never be cured of. _

The TV playing music videos had changed as well, as security footage interspliced with a deformed masked figure played. The figure seemed to be glitching, then slowly pointed towards the viewer. All of a sudden, Mad Dawg felt like the whole world was vibrating. Like when a controller with rumble is put on a wooden table, but on a world-wide scale.

"_No. No… Stop!" _Mad Dawg bit down on his lip hard, trying to force these ideas away from him. That whole… issue had happened nearly two years ago! Why was he just feeling the aftermath of it now?!

"_Maybe because you were moving so much, had to fight off cults, terrorist organizations and twisted clones of yourself, you failed to fully process the extent of the damage." _One thought came to mind.

"_Or maybe he's right." _Another came, and Mad Dawg exhaled sharply.

"_Don't think about it. Just breathe. Don't think about it. Just breathe. Don't think about it. Just breathe." _

He ducked into an alleyway, moving down towards the end to collect himself. He paused, breathing irradicably and heavily. Suddenly, a memory from long ago flashed through his head. He had been terrified, hiding in a closet, afraid of what he had done. Then the door opened, and Mad Dawg had seen one of his adoptive family kneeling down in front of him.

"_Kace? You alright?" _She spoke softly.

"_Immafrek…" _

"_No… no honey, you're not. Don't ever think that." _She had replied, calmly, but sternly. Her tone was always reassuring to him. _"You're not a freak, you're something special." _

"_But… why can I do this stuff? Imnot human. What was I supposd t'be?" _Mad Dawg had quietly asked, he had a bit of a speech impediment for a bit growing up, and it always annoyed him.

"_You are, and always will be who you choose to be." _Sitara had answered with a smile. _"When I see you, I don't see a freak. I see a little guy with some awesome abilities. And somehow, someday, you're gonna make the world a better place." _She paused, then added:_ "But please, don't feel like you have to do everything alone. You're always strongest when you have people who care for you." _

"_Yeah. And… Heh… I have that." _Mad Dawg nodded sighing and cracking his neck. His breathing had calmed down, he could feel the world stop shaking. _"I have that. For the first time in forever, I have a new chance. And I can't let my past control my future. It's been about a month? Yeah, a month, and two incidents. Let's get that down to zero." _

He left, walking back out and looking over his shoulder at the music store. He frowned in annoyance though, a few of the records hadn't changed, and some had. Whatever. He had better things to do.

Then Mad Dawg realized he didn't have anything better to do.

"Well, since the author is creatively bankrupt, scene change!" Mad Dawg declared, jumping up and climbing into the next scene.

**Hey, what was that about being creatively bankru-**Night had come once again, and Mad Dawg smiled as he drove into Coyote Acers. He was here early, deciding to get stuff ready. He walked over to the improvised pit and looked down. He found a rock and pulled a knife off of his belt. He carved _M.D. Constantine _into it, then set it back into the mix. He shoveled the ashes and dirt out of the pit and replaced the sticks and dead leaves. He looked over to the baseball diamond, seeing the shattered scoreboard still standing and laughed somewhat. He scratched a lighter and watched the flame, looking to his bag, then frowned. He extinguished the flame, he wasn't ready.

He did start the fire though, and watched as the leaves and sticks caught the embers and broke into flame. He held one of his smoke sticks up to it and then took a drag, exhaling through his nose and laughing slightly. It was always such a weird feeling. At the same time, he could hear voices talking as a group approached. Looking up, Mad Dawg saw Lincoln and Clyde, as well as Lynn Jr., Ronnie Ann, Rusty, and… that emo Loud girl… whatever her name was.

"Hey Dawg." Lincoln waved.

"Sup' dude?" Mad Dawg nodded in reply. "Where's the other one? Jr.'s friend?"

"Something came up and Margo had to deal with it. Classes are picking up now." Lynn Jr. frowned. "There's so much garbage we gotta sit through…"

"Hey, I never went to public school, and I turned out great." Mad Dawg said, putting a hand to his chest and bowing cartoonishly.

"Okay. On second thought, maybe school is useful…"

"For one who wears scars like jewelry, your personality surely doesn't match your look." The black-haired girl whose hair covered her eyes remarked, her tone seemed dry and somewhat dark. But there was also curiosity and a relaxed side to it.

"Dawg, not sure if you remember, but this is Lucy." Lincoln introduced his sister to the mutant.

"Heyo." Dawg said with a half-wave, he swayed slightly, as if vibeing to some low-fi music.

"So… how much gas did you use to start this?" Clyde asked jokingly. Mad Dawg exhaled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, looking around at the group.

"When this is all said and done, I'm gone." Mad Dawg said, his eyes narrowing. "They can never know what I did… the darkened embers of eternity will consume all… The trails of blazing anarchy shall spread through this town, and I will be the spark which ignites the apocalyptic revolution, of which will be the end of this world as we know it!"

There wasn't a noticeable reaction, but clearly no one seemed to be believing a word Dawg was saying. Ronnie Ann had an amused grin on her face, Lincoln face-palmed, Lynn Jr. blinked, Lucy tilted her head, as if thinking she found some sort of kindred spirit, Rusty laughed and Clyde simply replied with:

"So, Rusty. What've you been up to recently?"

"Hey!" Mad Dawg said annoyed, which did get a laugh from the group. He decided to let everyone chill for a bit, so he started making s'mores in the fire pit.

"Huh, guess we thought of the same thing." Lincoln commented, opening his bag, and revealing the snacks he had brought.

"Awesome, let's binge like there's no tomorrow!" Mad Dawg declared.

"What? And end up like gluttony from your story?" Ronnie Ann asked with a raised brow. Maybe it was just the way he was, maybe it was what he was doing earlier, but Mad Dawg couldn't stop himself from replying:

"Well, you're half-way there already."

That _DID _get a reaction as the whole campfire fell into an icy silence. Mad Dawg blinked, realizing what he had said, and to who he had said it. Ronnie Ann didn't need to say a word, just from the look on her face, it was clear she was beyond pissed. Heck, even Lincoln gave Dawg a very clear 'Dude, that went WAY too far' look.

"Huh… I… I'll just hurt myself pre-emptively." Mad Dawg remarked.

"Yes. Do that." Ronnie Ann scowled. However, she didn't expect Dawg to stick his hand into the fire and hold it there for a few moments, then yell in pain and pull it out. The group recoiled in shock as Dawg held up his charged hand, looking at the remains of it. The skin was burned and somewhat gone, and his finger structure seemed to have changed, seeming almost like claws now. But that could've just as easily been the fire or the excoriating pain he was in. Worst of all, it seemed like Dawg didn't know if this would heal properly or not.

"Okay… that was a mistake…" He wheezed. He slowly reached for his bag and dug for a minute. "Ugh… hey, Linc? I've got a medkit in my bag, but I can't open it. Could you…"

Dawg didn't need to finish, as Lincoln got up and opened the small box. Mad Dawg took some bandages and duct tape out and wrapped up his hand, seething and wincing in pain. He sealed it off with some duct tape and looked back to Ronnie Ann.

"That uh… that was a dick move on my end. Sorry." He admitted. "This isn't an excuse, but back home insults like that were a dime for three dozen. It was pretty much a requirement for living there…"

"Right… Uh… Look, I thought you were gonna punch yourself in the face or something. You really, _really _didn't have to do that. And no offence here, but please don't ever do something like that again."

"Yeah, why did I do that?" Mad Dawg scowled, not talking to anyone around the campfire.

**No so creatively bankrupt now, am I? **

"_Actually, considering this is the sixth or seventh time you've made he hurt myself to prove a point, I'd say yeah, you really are." _

…**.oh. **

"Can we all agree to just ever speak about what just happened?" Clyde muttered, feeling like he was going to pass out after what he just saw. IT really seemed like every time he was around Mad Dawg it either ended in a good way, or it ended with him questioning his sanity for willingly being in the same town as him.

"Yeah… Uh… heh… Don't worry, I'll live." Mad Dawg smiled. He felt the weird sensation of his healing factor kicking it. It was like lathering oneself in body wash, and it stung the same way when you poured it into an open wound. Only here the pain was constant because his entire hand was the open wound. "Alright, you guys ready to continue with the story?"

"Woo!"

"Totally."

"C'mon, let's go!"

"A'right." Mad Dawg nodded with a smirk, then looked to Lucy. "So, you're new here. To make a long story short, what I'm talking about is that my family told me stories about the seven deadly sins. Essentially, each sin has a living embodiment, and said embodiment can only be surpassed by someone who exceeds them." Lucy nodded in understanding. "And each embodiment cannot die until surpassed. So, I told the tales of Gluttony and Greed, a woman who ate to feel happy and a woman seeking answers."

"Have you ever thought about making a book out of these?" Lincoln asked. Mad Dawg paused, then frowned.

"Nah, they were always meant to be spoken legends, stories told for free among friends and strangers, not ones sold in a store. At least, that's what my grandfather said." He answered.

Mad Dawg paused, looking to the fire, as if determining something. Then smirked, looking up to the group.

"All right, let's begin."

Tossing something onto the fire, the flames took a rainbow colouring for a few moments, they dance through a spectrum of colours before settling on a yellowish colour. He noticed their surprised reactions and felt proud of himself. He loved this stuff.

"So, if you really wanna be pretentious, people consider the Ying and Yang to be embodiments of light and darkness, and how one cannot exist without the other. That light and dark endlessly struggle against one another. Me? Eh, I think it's a design representative of… stuff. Honestly, I don't have some deep meaning. Sorry…" Mad Dawg began, seeming serious, then rubbing the back of his head embarrassed. "This first story is gonna take us back, a long, long, long time. Back to the medieval times. There was a knight known as 'Titan', he was a beast of a man, nearly eight feet tall, over four-hundred pounds, a warrior who traveled from kingdom to kingdom. His battles were known for being brutal and bloody, but they would always end the same way, with Titan victorious. This happened for many years, and Titan became revered among nobility. He was also a kind man, who fought for the innocent. But there was another. His name was 'Cillian', he was a nobleman who trained his entire life to be strong, to become a warrior, a hero. Someone his kingdom would remember for an eternity."

"This is wrath, it's gotta be." Lynn Jr. whispered.

"Nah, it's definitely pride." Rusty whispered back. "Titan and Cillian are warriors, their pride will be their downfall, and they might be trapped forever trying to outdo one another."

"Cillian and Titan worked together for a time, repelling Vikings and warring clans. In many ways, Cillian was Titan's equal and even his better, and vice-versa." Mad Dawg continued. He enjoyed the confused looks on everyone's faces. "There was a difference between the two, however. While Titan was a warrior who fought in bloody battles, he rarely took the offerings that were presented to him by the townsfolk and nobility. To him, the battle was what he lived for."

"Ha. Wrath." Lynn Jr. whispered.

"But Cillian on the other hand… Well, he was different. He did it to prove himself better than Titan, to prove himself the best. But it never worked. Even though he didn't bathe in it, Titan was the one who received the praise for his actions. While Cillian, did it to be adored. He wanted to be known, to have his name shouted from the streets."

"So, why didn't they?" Clyde asked.

"Cillian was many things. A warrior, a fighter, but he was also a man who fought dishonourably. In the times of old amongst Highland Clans, a dishonourable warrior was worse than almost anything." Mad Dawg answered. The answer seemed to satisfy Clyde's curiosity, but Lucy seemed to be about to ask a question, until Ronnie-Ann answered it for him.

"The stories take a bit to get going, the 'Deadly Sin' aspect comes in soon though."

"Despite the good deeds he did, Cillian wasn't a warrior who fought for others, he fought for himself. As such, his deeds were ignored, or even given to Titan. He became a ghost in the living world, and he hated Titan for it." Mad Dawg continued, before taking a moment to take a bite of his burnt s'more. "However, Cillian knew that if he killed Titan, he would be next. He couldn't kill the hero, he had to upstage him. Unfortunately, Titan would fall in battle not long after, and the kingdoms built a statue to remember him. Cillian… didn't take it too well. He believed that he should be the one remembered, he should be the one celebrated. So, he decided he would make himself known. He spent the following decades constructing his own castle, his own statues, along the hills of what would become known as The Quiraing. He made structures spanning the hills, reminders of who he was every two minutes. He survived long enough to do so due to the curse, he saw the curse as a gift, a way to forever extend his legacy."

"…so…what happened to him?" Lucy asked, tentatively.

"Do any of you know what The Quiraing is today?" Mad Dawg asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, it's a bunch of huge cliffs now." Ronnie-Ann nodded. "It looks over the ocean, facing a massive rock bed below."

"Yeah, that's what it is _now_. Back then, it was more of a hillside, but the ground wasn't solid. Storms were frequent in Scotland, and one night, there was a storm that was remembered to this day. The winds seemed to have a vendetta against the ground and earth itself, the water roared and screamed, but all the while Cillian refused to leave. He built his legacy on these hills, but now they would be no more. The storms tore the hills apart, dragging Cillian, his statues, his castle and his legacy into the waters below. Some people claim that the weather was made by Titan, as consequence for his actions, but no one really knows. The remains fell and created the rock bed below, while Cillian was dragged to the bottom of the ocean, trying to escape, but now cursed to wait until someone else exceeded his envy."

The group went quiet, taking in the story. They looked to one another, nodding and taking it all in, the ideas, the implications and his ultimate fate. Clyde seemed to have a remorseful look on his face, and it made sense. Despite his actions Cillian wasn't a horrible person, sure he made mistakes, but… I mean…

"So, that's the tale of envy." Mad Dawg concluded. "Admittedly, it's not my favourite of the bunch, but it is what it is."

"That's really cool." Lucy said, her tone clearly impressed.

They took ten minutes, making s'mores and watching the fire. Finally, Mad Dawg spoke up again:

"Who's ready for the second story?"

"Let's do it." Rusty grinned.

"Jumping back to the whole ying and yang thing, some of the sins have a counterpart to them. Gluttony and Sloth, Greed and Lust, Wrath, and then Envy and…"

"Pride." Was collectively said.

"Yup." Mad Dawg nodded. "This is a story… well… I don't know all of y'all super well, so this may hit each of you in a different way. That's my warning."

Mad Dawg paused, thinking about the story. He felt anger and regret form in his gut, but he knew this was a way of dealing with what he had been through.

"So, there was this kid." He began. "The name is lost to time, but this kid had talents like you couldn't believe. They were a gifted academic, artist, and athlete, every time they had a test, they got the highest mark, every competitive activity, they came in first. The kid loved it, they felt like they were free, like they were on top of the world, but there was someone who loved it more than them. The kid's parents weren't much like him, The mother was a janitor, the father was a teller, They both pushed their kid to be the best they could be. To always strive for perfection, to be the best in everything."

Lynn Jr. blinked, frowning somewhat. She felt like she knew what going to happen, and it wasn't a good thing…

"So, he did. He sacrificed his social life to uphold the image his parents had of him. He pushed himself beyond all limits to please them. He believed they loved him, that they loved him for being their child…" Mad Dawg continued, but his composure seemed to deflate. "They did love him, for a time, but eventually they focused more on what he could do, rather than, y'know, the fact that he was their son. Heck they focused on it more than their own lives. Maybe they pushed him because they didn't want him to end up like them, or maybe they were trying to feel what it was like to succeed through him."

Everyone looked to one another, Rusty had known what that was like for a time, but things were better. None of the Louds had experienced that to the extent this kid had, and Clyde and Ronnie-Ann hadn't been through it, but they could tell that this sucked.

"As the years went on, the parents paraded their son's accomplishments around, showing them off to anyone who would listen. But the kid had it hard, as they grew, the pressures got tighter and goals larger. One way or another, he tried his best, but didn't always succeed. He pushed himself harder and harder, trying to do well, believing these achievements made them happy, made them love him- er, them. They were able to believe it for long enough, then… aye…" Mad Dawg shook his head, seeming like an old man who had seen something happen a million times, yet somehow no one seemed to learn their lesson. "They were coming home from school, having stayed late. He didn't see the car coming…"

Mad Dawg didn't need to say another word. Everyone recoiled in genuine shock and sadness. Sure, this was just a story, but still.

"The parents… well, they had different reactions. The mother shut down, she mourned, she was broken, she realized she lost a son. She realized what had happened. The father though, he acted no differently. He believed that his son's success was all he needed to have a better life, and he refused to acknowledge that he could be wrong. When they fell into financial strife, the father decided to use what his son had made in order to make money. He believed that he was as smart as his son, he made things worse. So much worse."

"I can imagine." Rusty nodded.

"Well, his wife couldn't stand him, and she left. He claimed _he _left _her_. Things didn't get much better from there…"

Mad Dawg continued his tale, explaining how the man acted as if everything was fine, refusing to give up this image of who he truly was, and how it caused him to come crashing down. Leaving him broken, alone, and going in circles, now cursed to continuously attempt to climb back up to some level of decent living, only to be knocked back down and unable to accept the truth.

"…apparently, Pride is the sin that gets replaced the most frequently." Mad Dawg concluded. "I can see why, the sad thing is, I doubt most of the people who are cursed don't even realize what their issue is, and if they did, they wouldn't be able to be free from it." He paused for a moment, then said: "I'll be back in a sec."

He got up and walked off towards the nearby woods, leaving the group in silence. Finally, Lucy spoke up.

"I feel like the 'pride' story is based on his own life. And he uses these stories as a way to cope or attempt to shed his guilt and past sins."

"Hey, that's kinda mean." Rusty frowned. "Dawg doesn't seem like the kinda guy who-"

"When we first met him, he lived in a tree in the park." Lucy cut him off. "He was clearly mentally broken, and is still trying to repair himself to a degree. His sporadic movements and anarchic attitude are clearly just a front for someone who is deeply troubled."

"Well yeah. But he's trying to change, so who cares?" Ronnie-Ann spoke, surprising a few of the others. "When he met Bobby, apparently, he got shot trying to stop a robber, he apparently spends some of his free time just hanging around and talking with anyone who needs it. He doesn't seem like the same guy Lincoln's sisters apparently hit with a van."

"Can confirm." Lincoln nodded, taking a drink. "They did hit him with a car, and he was very different from how he is now."

"Well, I think it's pretty clever to be honest. Make up stories about your mistakes as a way to warn others about making a similar one? That's neat." Lynn Jr. shrugged.

"And heck, he's a great storyteller!" Clyde added.

"True, true." Everyone nodded.

Mad Dawg had returned, and sat back down, looking around then remembering something.

"Right, I don't play guitar." He muttered.

"Ah, too bad." Rusty grinned. "Seems like the right time to be playing one."

"Yeah, I'll bring some bagpipes next time." Mad Dawg agreed. "They're similar enough, right?"

"NO." Was collectively shouted.

"Yes." Rusty said after the silence returned, and everyone looked in anger at him. The looks of 'Do not encourage him' clear.

"Relax, I'm kidding." Mad Dawg waved dismissively. "I wasn't gonna ask if you wanted me to bring them_. I was gonna do it anyways!" _

There was something almost… cartoon super-villainy about the way he finished that statement, that it made most of the group laugh. Their conversations, jokes, (and insults) continued well into the night. More than a few times, they tried to get Dawg to tell another of the stories, but he was adamant that two was the limit every time.

"Hey, Dawg? You say you're from another planet, right?" Rusty asked, having only heard bits and pieces of who 'Mad Dawg' was. He was skeptical about him being a mutant, but after seeing him burn his hand and then it begins to heal, and seeing him put a hole through the scoreboard, he was much more willing to entertain that theory.

"Dimension. Another earth." Dawg answered, sipping on another Hydra Energy. Clyde gave him an annoyed look and took it from him, mentioning something about 'being a caffeine junkie' under his breath.

"Oh… uh, okay." Rusty blinked. "I gotta ask, how'd you get _here_?"

The non-Louds (minus Clyde, so really just Ronnie-Ann and Rusty) looked to Mad Dawg for an answer, the curiosity clear on their faces.

"So… Okay." Mad dawg began, before exhaling sharply. "Everything I am about to say, is true. I know it sounds nuts, but this is just my life."

"Again, can confirm." Lincoln nodded. "He's crazy."

"Yea-HEY!" Mad Dawg exclaimed in realization. "Anyhow… Uh, back where I'm from, there was this terrorist group, and they were a buncha assholes. So, eventually, me and my friends, a bunch of peace-keeping heroes, decided they needed to be stopped for good. There was like, a huge battle and stuff. I don't really know what happened. I went up against the head honcho of the place, and _THAT _was a mistake…"

"How so?"

"The dude is nearly nine-feet tall, weighs close to four-fifty pounds, and has a giant metal death gauntlet for an arm that can destroy an entire skyscraper with a single punch." Mad Dawg answered, annoyed with someone. He passed a tablet over to Ronnie-Ann who watched skeptically… and then in horror. She passed it to Rusty, who had the same reaction, then Lucy and so on and so on… The group seemed horrified but also amazed. "…so we went mano-a-mano and I kinda, sorta, killed myself." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"WHAT!?" Everyone exclaimed in shock and disbelief (aside from Lincoln and Lynn Jr.)

"I set off a bunch of explosives in his face, while he was holding me by the neck. And we exploded. Everything went dark, and then I got hit by their van." Mad Dawg shrugged. "And before you ask, I have NO IDEA how I'm alive, either some sort of Guardian Angel saved my life, or this is the afterlife."

The questions continued into the night, Mad Dawg spoke calmly and honestly, but the whole group could clearly tell that talking about this was disheartening to Mad Dawg, he seemed genuinely saddened. Still, he bounced back eventually, keeping quiet for the rest of the night.

"Hey, Linc." Dawg called. "Tell Loona I'll be there tomorrow morning for the rehearsal."

Mad Dawg didn't hear Lincoln's reply. He just breathed heavily and looked at his hands, tomorrow he would either conquer his demons, or be consumed by them. He sat by the fire for another twenty minutes, and then extinguished it. He got up and walked away from his ATV, he walked into the woods and looked around. The world was still, not even a leaf rustling, it seemed like the world wanted to see what would happen next. Mad Dawg sighed, wiping a tear from his eye, and grabbed a knife and stabbed himself in the thigh. The blade dug deep, ripping flesh and making Mad Dawg roar in pain. He fell forward and felt his body begin to shake…

**A.N. So, if you know Mad Dawg from either of his other stories, they might know what's happening… if you don't? Well, next time things are gonna be FUN! The first story arc is complete. Mad Dawg has gotten his tacos, and now… let's get ready to Rock and Roar!**


	8. Rock and Roar: Part 1

"_Keep moving. Keep breathing. Keep moving. Keep breathing." _

Mad Dawg looked around, he felt sick… He felt like his skin was on fire… again.

"_What the hell did you do this time!?" _HE mentally screamed at himself. _"WHY did you do that!? Do you have __any__ idea what you just did?! DO YOU!? DO YOU!?" _

"_No… Keep moving. Keep breathing. Don't think about it, not now… just… keep…" _Another thought ran through his head.

"_Are you retarded or something!? Go back! This is your one chance at this! They need to know the truth!" _The first thought came racing back, screaming louder, angrier, than before.

The mutant stopped thinking, he just looked around at his surroundings. His home didn't feel like a home right now. He wasn't claustrophobic, but he felt like the walls were slowly closing in. All the while sucking the air into them, depriving him of the ability to think straight, his body going into overtime to compensate, which just made his mind scream more.

"_Look at you… She was right. You're an accident, you're a freak of nature… what good are you!?" _

"_SHUT. UP." _Mad Dawg finally screamed inwardly. He knew this type of thinking wasn't going to help him. He needed to clear his mind… He walked to his minifridge and aggressively threw it open, bottles and Tupperware clattering as the small cool box shook. Grabbing a beer, Mad Dawg snapped the cap off by smashing it against the nearby counter.

"_Yes. Drink." _The first voice returned. _"Do the only thing you're somehow able to do without screwing it up… Do what you always do! Run from your problems! Lie to your friends! Keep doing these terrible things and then feel bad for yourself! You sorry waste of genetic coding and stitched together animal flesh!" _

"_What do you want me to do!?" _

"_Give up. Give in. Who cares." _Came the response. _"You said it yourself. You screwed up, badly." _

"_What? You want me to off myself?! It didn't work last time!"_

"_Then try again." _

"_Keep breathing. Just breathe." _Came the second voice. _"Listen to me, this isn't happening. None of it-" _

"_YES, IT IS!" _The first voice screamed. _"YOU brought this on YOURSELF!"_

Turning around, Mad Dawg blinked in shock when he saw who was standing in front of him. Somehow, he had completely missed them when he entered…

"Kid… What is SHE doing here?"

The next thing Mad Dawg saw, a new figure appeared directly in front of him, the metallic rattling of its breathing mixed with the sickening sounds of burnt meat drowned out the sounds of the gun was at his chin, then the trigger was pulled, firing a shot directly into-

"AAHH!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, jolting awake and accidentally flipping off of his couch in a panic. Landing on the ground Mad Dawg breathed heavily as he struggled to collect himself, he began looking around for Jesse or Olivia… Wait. No. He was in another dimension. They weren't here.

"_Huh." _Mad Dawg blinked, realizing what had happened. _"Haven't had a dream like that in a minute…" _

Mad Dawg dragged himself up to his feet, his back cracking as he did so, he felt still somewhat dazed and wandered over to his front door. Walking out into the cool morning air, the only signs of light were the street lamps at spaced intervals from one another. Mad Dawg felt the autumn air blow between his track shorts and tank top. The mutant closed the door and sat on the steps to his house, taking in the early morning sky. It was still pitch-black, if Dawg had to guess, maybe two or three in the morning. Considering his lifestyle, health and general motive of day-to-day actions, being awake at random hours or early in the morning was nothing new. He half believed he suffered from some sort of anxiety-induced insomnia, but… What was causing his anxiety? Was he afraid of making a mistake? Was it all the energy drinks he kept consuming? Or maybe he was afraid of living a normal life…

"_No, that's ridiculous." _Mad Dawg rolled his eyes, before pausing and thinking for a few moments. _"Actually… Is it?" _

Well, maybe it wasn't. He had spent so long in such a weird state, one where terror attacks, being shot, and hanging out with a giant monkey who was also a scientist was totally normal. And then suddenly going to a day-to-day routine where the most extreme thing was being shot over a taco (which yeah, was pretty weird, but was a one-in-a-million-chance that would've happened) and literally being the one-in-seven-billion who was like him, bringing him to a point where he could actually have a regular life without people knowing about what he was meant to be? Yeah, that was kinda weird all things considered. Still, Mad Dawg was happy. He could say that with certainty now, and not just because he got some tacos, but because, well, he had friends. Now, while he still desperately wanted to go home, he didn't feel quite as alone as he had previously.

"Alone…" He muttered, somewhat sadly, hugging his legs close. The word hung in the air, seemingly making the air surrounding him a little bit colder.

There was no way to put it, he was alone. Even with all that had been happening here, hanging with the Louds, and Santiago's, and even Mr. Trejo, Mad Dawg was still alone. His 'family' was either in another dimension or time place, or dead. While he didn't regret being directly responsible for the death of his 'mom', it was the death of Don that still hurt. He knew why though, Don Kim was pretty much an adoptive father or grandfather to Mad Dawg, which was weird considering he was around nine or ten when he met him, and Don Kim was something like one hundred plus years (despite the legends saying he was 300+), a Japanese Crime Lord, and had ripped Mad Dawg's heart out and replaced it with a car battery.

"Man, my life is weird." Mad Dawg blinked.

But the guy had turned out to be someone that was compassionate, and at times completely insane. Both things Mad Dawg identified with, and their friendship only grew with time, drinks, and incredibly stupid schemes that they came up with in bars. And that wasn't even considering the others like; Angela, Marcus, Santos, Sitara, Jack, Lena, Ray, Josh… All of them really. The family he had struggled to reconnect with for so long, now… gone.

Again.

"_But, it was the right thing to do." _Mad Dawg reasoned. _"That… that saved the world! I did what I did, to stop a terrorist leader. If it worked, Akande is DEAD. Doesn't that count for something!?" _

It did, quite a lot actually. But that didn't help ease his feeling of isolation. He missed them, more than he could put into words. He had tried to, but looking back on it, there was so much more he had put into that video… and Isabelle… There was so much he didn't tell her. She looked up to him, she trusted him, and then… he was gone. What must that have been like for her? For all of them? Would they think it was worth saving the world if it cost them Mad Dawg? Dawg certainly thought it was, but he also had finally seen how much they had cared for him…

Looking around, Mad Dawg took a roll out and lit it up, he knew that this probably wasn't the best thing to do in a K+ story, but if it was never directly said what it was, then who cared? His mind drifted to the other side of the conversation he had been having with himself, the connections he _had_ made. Sure, he was gone from everyone he knew, but now… well. He was alive, and he knew he had done the right thing, he just had to have faith that everything would turn out alright for everyone. While he did that, he finally felt like he was beginning to genuinely put his past behind him. He had met with Leni a few times in the past weeks, and he didn't know why he felt so timid and awkward about accepting her offer to get a coffee and talk. But there was something… helpful, was the best way to put it. She didn't critique him (that badly) or blame him for things (at least, not a _lot _of things) but was more there to listen, and while Mad Dawg would **NEVER** say this to her face, she was smarter than she seemed in some cases. She gave him advice or suggestions for things to try around town, and eventually she asked him if he was ready to move on. That had genuinely caught him off guard.

"Oh hey… a firefly." Mad Dawg said quietly, watching a small blinking light pass by. "Cool."

Mad Dawg checked his phone, remembering that today was the day he was going to meet up with Luna and her band, but he needed to check where and when… admittedly, he should've figured this out yesterday, or the day before… but then again, this was Mad Dawg.

Nodding in conformation, Mad Dawg sighed, deciding he needed to go back to bed, and went back to his house, pausing at the door when he heard a high-pitched static ringing. He scowled something under his breath and went inside.

"It's not real…"

The next morning, Luna Loud was tuning her guitar, checking the strings and looking around to her bandmates. There was Sam, co-singer and guitarist, and Chunk, their roadie. The drummer, nicknamed 'N' hadn't arrived yet, but had texted saying that he was grabbing food and was gonna be a few minutes late. Somehow, someway, 'N' knew a guy who let them use an old empty warehouse to film their video, and frankly… it was awesome. It was spacious and had a decent echo, but a few sound pads fixed that quickly. There was electricity so they didn't need to rely on the sun coming in through the windows, and the place was surprisingly large, which allowed them to have multiple small sets put in place for different scenes or takes.

"Hey, you nervous?" Sam grinned.

"Me? No…" Luna rolled her eyes with a grin. "Nervous? Nah. Terrified? kinda, yeah."

"I mean, like, yeah. This video could be what we need to launch ourselves into the big time." Chunk nodded, looking up from where he was setting up a camera. "After this? Who knows, we might be touring more than just Royal Woods public school."

"Just sayin' we're getting a bus." Sam stated as if this was non-negotiable. "I don't care what any of you say. We're getting a bus."

"Who'll drive it?" The roadie asked with a smirk, and Sam gave him an annoyed look.

"We're getting a bus." She re-stated her last remark. "Seriously though, how awesome would it be?! Traveling across the country, hanging out in a mobile home, having small tv's everywhere, a hot tub on the roof…"

"Whoa, that's a thing?" Luna asked, surprised.

"Oh, yeah! Mick Swagger apparently has one on his bus. Actually, I say it's a bus, but it's more like a home with wheels."

"So, an RV?"

The trio turned and saw 'N' entering with a box of donuts and three coffees, setting them on a table.

"…Huh, yeah. I guess that might be an RV." Sam conceded with a nod.

"And this is why you weren't the one in charge of making major decisions."

"And _that _is why you'll always be remembered as 'The Drummer'." Luna retorted with a smirk. 'N' rolled his eyes and laughed, looking around at the makeshift stage they had set up. He nodded in silent approval, although he would be fine with anything Chunk did. But then he frowned as he looked around, noticing something.

"Hey, where's that Chase kid?" He asked with a quirked brow. "Wasn't he supposed to be here?"

Luna felt all eyes turn to her as she looked to her bandmates and bit her lip.

"Kace. First of all." She remarked. "But yeah, I kinda thought he'd be here by now."

Chunk was looking through the viewfinder and jumped when he saw… _something_ pass by the far wall. Whatever it was, it was _BIG_. He looked up in bewilderment, but saw nothing. He shook his head, must've been a shadow. He looked to one of the flood lights they had rented, it was holding steady, but he felt like the frame was off, but he couldn't say why.

"Look, you were kinda sketchy about this guy, you sure this isn't gonna end up being some sort of crime that gets talked about on a True Crime Podcast or something?" 'N' asked another question. Of the four, he was the most… skeptical, to put it politely, about bringing in some random (to him at least) outsider to help them with some sort of costume.

"I know, and I'm sorry." Luna sighed. "Kace is a friend of mine, we met about a month ago, and he's really… unique."

"Like, mentally? Or…"

"Dude!" Luna replied, disgusted somewhat.

"What?!" 'N' said defensively. "I don't know the guy!"

"Ugh… Kace is essentially a living swiss army knife from what I've seen." Luna explained, rubbing her temples somewhat. "He can either be as posh and civilized as Lola, or can be as off-the-way and crazy as Luan."

"True. The dude seemed really weird, but also really fun." Sam nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I may not know the guy, but if that costume is half as good as that shadowy picture, I'm A-Okay with him helpin' out." Chunk added, then looked up. Yeah, the light was fine.

"Fine, fine, fine…" 'N' grumbled, understanding he wasn't going to win this argument. "It's just… it seems a little _too _convenient, y'know? Some new guy shows up, and immediately offers to throw in with us to help make a video for a band he's never heard of? I'm not judging the guy personally, but I am saying that's a little… weird, is all."

"Look, N…" Luna began, unsure of what to say. "Kace is… troubled. He's kinda had a really crappy hand dealt to him from the word go. He's trying his best to get better, and he's really, _really _socially awkward. He told Leni that part of why he's acted the way he has is that he doesn't know how to make friends. Even if you two don't get along, just try and be nice, okay?"

"Whoa Luna. When did I ever say I wouldn't?" 'N' asked, looking up from his coffee, almost sounding offended. "Hey, if he's a friend of yours, that's good enough for me. I just thing the optics are a bit weird, is that fair to say?"

"Yeah, sorry N. I guess I'm a little high-strung right now…"

Chunk heard something rattle and turned to see something disappear into another room. That time he _knew _it wasn't a shadow. Had a janitor stumbled in here and was trying not to disturb them? No… that didn't seem right…

"Hey, C-Man, you good?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." The roadie nodded. "Yo, Lu. Where's this guy? We ain't got all day."

Luna blinked, then took out her phone to send him a message. While she did this, 'N' walked back to the table and noticed two donuts were missing. THAT made no sense… he had been here all of two minutes, and none of them had taken one yet. He had checked earlier to make sure there were twelve… Did he eat them and forgot about it? No. The ones missing were the jelly-filled ones. He hated those…

_Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. _

Everyone turned and saw a phone sitting on a chair. No one could say if it had been there when they arrived, but they all knew it wasn't theirs. Slowly, Sam picked it up, seeing a message from Luna

_Where R U? _

"Uh… I think this is Dawg's phone…" She remarked, confusing everyone further. Now, Sam saw what appeared to be claw marks along the nearby wall, and she knew Chunk hadn't put those there… they seemed far too real…

There was a soft chime, and Luna looked down at her phone.

_Behind U _

Slowly, she turned and looked behind her, the closed shutters cast the back part of the warehouse in absolute darkness, it should've been dead quiet, until everyone heard a deep, low breathing. It almost sounded like a growl.

"Hey… Mad Dawg?" Luna called. "That you?"

There was no reply, save for the sounds of heavy footsteps and deep breathing. Slowly, a figure emerged from the shadows, approaching the frozen band like a predator closing in for the kill. With each step, the air in the room seemed to get either thinner or colder. The sounds of some sort of claw or talon scraping across the ground mixed with the deep heavy breathing were the only sounds that were audible, as everyone who saw what was walking into the light had stopped breathing. The lights reflected sleek but twisted gray and white fur, or hair. It was not clear what it was. This… thing, had a head that seemed like a wolf's, and a body much like a bear, but also an oddly human one at the same time. Its legs were thinner but clearly defined, like a jackal's legs, and large forearms that were clearly strong enough to snap metal bars in half. Its head jerked around and looked at the band mates, and it slowly stood on its hind legs, now towering nearly eight feet tall. The only noticeable colour on this thing was its light red tinted, amber-colored eyes, and the blood-red 'T' that began just above its eyes and concluded at the tip of his chin.

"M..m…ma…ma…Mad Dawg?" Luna stammered out, in absolute shock at what was standing before them.

"Hey." The beast spoke in an unnaturally deep voice.

"That…is…so…COOL!" Sam screamed, wide-eyed in amazement at what she saw in front of them.

"Holy… holy crap…" 'N' muttered in terrified amazement.

"Oh, we are _SO _gonna break onto the scene with this video…" Chunk muttered.

The large costumed Mad Dawg got back down onto his hands and feet, walking into the center of the room and sitting down. Everyone took in the amazing detail of the realistic eyes and teeth that were noticeable. No one wanted to approach him, but everyone wanted to see this thing. Ripping a letter that was taped to his side, Mad Dawg threw it to Luna, who caught it and opened it.

"Hey guys, thanks for having me." She began. "This is my costume, pretty awesome, right?"

"Oh, _hell_ yeah." Chunk blinked.

"Just so you all know, I can't talk very well in this thing. The animatronic mask is a work-in-progress, this is the fourth revision of it. As such, I can only speak in short bursts."

"Way… it is…" Mad Dawg spoke, clearly struggling to get those words out.

"Also, I can't eat normal food in this this thing, so the brownies over there are mine, also, you may need to repeat yourselves once or twice as this costume makes it kinda hard to hear. Aside from that, let's do this!"

Sam slowly approached Mad Dawg, meeting the masks' eyes as he lowered his head, almost lying on the floor like a dog. Slowly, the guitarist reached out and touched Mad Dawg's side, rubbing her hand against the costume hair/fur.

"I love your fur… it's so floofy!" Sam squealed, her eyes widening as she felt the soft texture. In a matter of moments, she was lying on the thick fur that covered Mad Dawg's costume.

"Sam, c'mon. It's-oh. Wow. This is really soft." Luna blinked, feeling the fur for herself. "…oh…oh this is really soft…"

"I want a blanket of this stuff. Like, NOW." Sam said, still leaning against Mad Dawg's side. The large costumed monster stood up and shook himself, looking around at the band, then jerking his head towards the stage.

"Okay, so… I had no idea you were gonna be… _this big_." Chunk began. "So, the idea we had was you walking through the graveyard over there, some sort of werewolf kinda thing."

Mad Dawg looked to the set with the tombstones set up and seemed to be deep in thought before walking over to it, and proceeded to lift the entire platform up.

"Uh, Luna? What's he doing?" The roadie blinked, unsure of how to react to whatever was happening.

"I have no idea."

Mad Dawg set down the platform then walked away, dragging several empty metal oil barrels with him. He pointed to 'N' and Chunk and then pointed to the barrels. The pair didn't get immediately what he was getting at until he lifted up the platform again. They looked to one another then dragged them to the four corners of the platform, elevating it a few feet off of the floor. Mad Dawg turned around and pointed to himself, then pointed under the platform. He made a few gestures and the band looked on in confusion, until Luna's eyes widened.

"You wanna break through the ground." She stated and Mad Dawg grinned. "Oh, that's cool!"

"That's pretty clever, have him break up from the ground, wander the graveyard at night…" Chunk nodded. "Actually, that was my original idea, but I wasn't sure how to pull that off without trashing the whole set."

"Film… it last…"

"…how did I forget about that." Chunk blinked, genuinely disappointed in himself.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's do this!" Sam exclaimed, and Mad Dawg grinned.

For the next few hours, the band played their song, titled 'Dragon's Blood', while Chunk and Mad Dawg worked the cameras. Chunk got the idea to essentially duct tape cameras to Mad Dawg and let him run around the band, the result was an odd visual spectacle that made several of the more extreme rock moments all the better. Mad Dawg could also get higher angles by standing on his hind legs and pointing a camera downwards, which cut out the need for them to try and stack boxes or something dangerous like that.

Part way through, the lyrics went on to talk about the 'fire and fury of a dragon' and this was something everyone had issues with. They _wanted _to do some sort of pyrotechnic effect, but none of them knew how to safely pull it off. That, and they were pretty sure it would be illegal to light a fire or something along those lines to film for a movie. However, as they were getting ready for another take, 'N' nearly had a heart attack.

"DUDE. WHY DO YOU HAVE A GAS CAN!?" He shouted, and everyone whirled around to see Mad Dawg holding a gas can. The large costumed monster looked to them, then shrugged.

"Dragon… fire…" He got out.

"No! No! NO! Luna, this is insane! I know he's your friend or something, but the dude is gonna burn the place down and kill all of us! I don't know if he's mentally unstable or something, but we can't work with him! The furry is a threat to everyone here!"

While they argued, Mad Dawg continued pouring gasoline.

"N, I get your point, but he's not-" Luna began, only for a sizable fireball to suddenly manifest itself, a large column of fire shot up, and then was smothered by a blanket. The heat and intensity were still felt however, and Sam cried out as she felt some or her hair burn. "DAWG, WHAT THE HELL MAN?!"

Mad Dawg ignored her, pulling the blanket off and then gave a grunt of approval. Chunk looked over and his eyes lit up when he saw what Dawg had done.

"Oh, that's AWESOME!" He declared.

The others looked over, and saw that on a wooden sheet, Mad Dawg had spelt out 'Dragon's Blood' in a death metal-style font, with gasoline, then had set fire to it, then put it out, burning the lettering into the wood in a unique black-and-dark-red style.

"Stupid… idea…" Mad Dawg said, before walking off. The sounds of chains dragging could be heard as he came back into the room, dropping two long chains next to him, then pointed to the gas, before making a circle motion.

"Uh, that might be a bit risky." Chunk shook his head. "We can use the chains, definitely, but don't set them on fire, I can imagine this costume is a pretty big fire hazard on its own."

Mad Dawg growled but nodded, dragging the chains off, not noticing the small pool of gas that had begun to form from around the gas can after one of his claws punched a hole in it by mistake.

When lunch came, about thirty seconds later, the band paused to eat. All the while Mad Dawg was eating a tray of brownies without his hands. But then again, it appeared that this thing wasn't made for eating food, so everyone decided to leave it be.

"So, like, where'd you find this guy?" Chunk asked, looking over to Luna. The rocker Loud looked to Mad Dawg, who let out a half-laugh and nodded.

"Well, I met him on some forums a few months ago. He found our demo and really liked it. He offered to help with some concept art, and we were gonna meet, then Lori hit him with our van."

'N' violently spat his drink out in shock, and Chunk burst out laughing. Mad Dawg gave them both an annoyed look, partially because his back was now covered in grape soda, and partially because of the laughing. He wasn't mad though, he kinda loved occasionally bringing this up to annoy Luna's sisters and shock newcomers.

"Seriously. She got distracted and hit him with the van. I kinda figured he was gonna try to kill or get us thrown in prison or something, but by some unbelievable act of God, he was okay."

"Crap happens." Mad Dawg commented, remaining still while Sam felt the warm fur once more.

"So, we got him home, patched him up, and… went from there."

"So, you committed near vehicular homicide, then a hit and run, and then _befriended_ the guy you nearly murdered." 'N' remarked, he looked to Mad Dawg and said. "If they're holding you hostage against your will, blink twice."

Mad Dawg began blinking as if his life depended on it. 'N' and the others laughed while Luna hit him in annoyance.

"Asshole." She scoffed, Mad Dawg flipped her off with one of his furry hands in response, his face essentially saying: 'Yup, whatch'a gon do?'.

"Seriously… this whole thing feels so real!" Sam muttered. "Like, I feel bones and it seems like real skin surrounding this! How did you do this!?"

Mad Dawg seemed to struggled for a minute, trying to write something on a small notepad with an even smaller pen. The words weren't perfect or in great English, but they got the message across.

"Synthetic plaster mixed with copious amounts of latex, metal and chicken wire." She read. She looked up, and it wasn't clear if she fully believed him or not. Actually, the whole band seemed to be now realizing what Dawg was claiming and what he had didn't seem like the same thing. Mad Dawg sighed and started pushing some fur up on his leg, he had a feeling this was gonna happen, so he took some (admittedly painful) precautions. Along his leg, there was a length of wiring held in place by a glue-like substance. Everyone looked at it, then seemed to collectively decide to just go with it. Admittedly, 'N' felt some of his paranoid apprehensions returning to him from earlier, as this thing seemed way, way too real… But… 'Mad Dawg' hadn't done anything to harm anyone yet, so he decided to remain cautiously optimistic. Besides, at the end of the day, their video was going to be _legendary_.

The band kept playing for several hours, and towards the end, everyone was feeling really good about this video. Mad Dawg acted as a sort of background character, appearing behind the band or slinking around like a wild animal, as well as hardcore head-thrashing, which according to Sam, was the funniest thing she had ever seen. The main 'music' segment was completed, so now it was the more background stuff. While they were busy filming, no one noticed that the flood light seemed to be breaking, as if the casing was threatening to shatter…

"And… ACTION!" Chunk shouted. There was silence, then a massive fist shot up from a grave, followed by another, and then 'Tom the Beast' as he had been nicknamed by Luna, pulled himself up. With the mixture of lighting, fans and camera angles, it looked like something out of a horror movie. Mad Dawg looked around, then began slinking from tombstone to tombstone. He was amazed, he actually did it! He quickly focused back in on his job, pausing, while 'N' and Sam appeared behind him, throwing one of the chains around his throat. He pretended to struggle, as if he was some sort of monster to be tamed by another creature of darkness. He also thought that the chain felt wet… but he chalked that up to sweat or condensation. He roared and shook his head, sending the chain flying away dramatically, which was helped by the bandmates yanking on fishing line to pull it away while it was in the air. "CUT! Loved it!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Mad Dawg's costumed body language shifting from an angered predator to one far more relaxed. He walked over and continued eating some brownies while the others looked at the footage. Chunk kept the camera rolling for a minute, trying to get some B-Roll in case they needed it for credits or something.

"Yes! This is amazing!" Luna cheered. "Our music sounds so good!"

"I ain't gonna lie Chunk, you surprised me." 'N' nodded in acknowledgement. "I kinda thought this was gonna be a try-hard video, but you planned this out perfectly! You really brought the roof down this time!"

There was a sound of metal snapping and cords breaking, and everyone froze.

"MOVE!" Chunk screamed, realizing what was happening and shoving Luna and 'N' out of the way and jumping away with the camera as the floodlight fell to the ground, shattering upon impact, sending a wave of sparks flying. "Everyone oaky!?"

His answer was no. He got this answer when the sparks landed on the small path of gas that had been made earlier, and a fire burst up. This wouldn't be too much of an issue, but the flame hit the chain which hadn't been covered in sweat or anything else… but had steadily been soaking in the gas puddle, and the metallic links erupted into fire in a long line.

"SAM!" Luna screamed, seeing her girlfriend on the ground, her boot caught in the pile of chains.

There was a loud thudding as if something was moving full-speed, shaking the world as it did so. "OH, WHAT NOW?!" 'N' yelled in annoyed, frightened fury. Sam felt the heat approach, and then something enveloped her. She felt herself be covered in fur and yanked upwards, then literally thrown like a pillow.

"YEET!" Mad Dawg's deep voice echoed. Sam landed roughly, but unharmed. However, Mad Dawg didn't have time to run, and suddenly exploded in an agonizing howl of pain. Everyone looked on in terror as the costume Mad Dawg wore was enveloped as the thick fur caught the fire, not helped by the gas he was standing in. The beast roared in animalistic pain, and slammed its fists onto the concrete, cracking the ground with unimaginable force. Chunk blinked in shock, seeing that this wasn't a panicked reaction of someone caught in a costume trying to get it off, this was the pained reaction of someone who had been set on fire. The creature suddenly lunged forward towards him and roared, and the hot breath and saliva didn't seem fake. It couldn't be fake.

"**HOLY CRAP THAT THING'S REAL!?" **Chunk shouted in terror, unsure if it was true or not, but scrambled to get away regardless.

"RUN!" Mad Dawg roared. "GO! NOW!"

Yelling animalisticly, the creature seemed to be struggling to either run or fight. It seemed like it was not only in pain because of the fire, but also because of the inability to decide on something. Finally, Mad Dawg looked to them one last time, his face horrifically burnt now, then Dawg shot off like a bull, charging towards a nearby open door which the band had been using for light. Everyone watched as Mad Dawg, or whatever that… _thing _was, disappeared down a concrete waterway.

"…is he gonna be okay?" Sam whispered.

"…please. Someone tell me that was in focus." Chunk muttered, seeing the camera had somehow remained rolling.

Mad Dawg was in absolute _AGONY _right now. His whole body was literally on fire! He kept running and running, he wanted to head for the forest, but knew that wasn't an option right now. If the whole place burned down…

"EvERywHEre YOu gO, YOu lEAvE EveRYThIng iN fAMEs!" He could hear Virus laughing in a distorted, twisted way, but he couldn't see where he was.

"_You mean nothing to me. You were just an experiment, and a failed one at that. Now, you're an annoyance at best and nothing to me at worst." _Another voice whispered into his ear, and that one didn't make him angry, it made him frightened.

"No…Sam…hurt…" He managed to get out as he saw a lake coming up ahead. He couldn't feel the fire as some of his nerves were now burned off, he felt weak, tired… like his body was to change back to its normal form… Jumping desperately, Mad Dawg heard a very loud hissing sound, and then everything went black.

A few minutes later, Mad Dawg woke to some of the most excruciating pain he had felt. His body was screaming at him to get out of the water, but he was so weak… He saw his right hand hadn't finished changing back to normal, and he used to slowly pull himself ashore. He felt rocks cutting at his chest, and right now he didn't care… If he didn't get out of the water, he would drown. Once he was on solid land, Mad Dawg found that his phone had miraculously survived the whole ordeal, as he kept it in a waterproof bag. However, the impact and fire had done some damage to it, and he was slowly scrambling to call… anyone. He felt blood leaking from all over he could feel his body getting ready to shut down, he weakly raised his head when he heard the other end of the line pick up.

"Hey MD, what's up?"

"H..he…hel…help m..m..me. Pleas..se." He hoarsely whispered.

"Whoa, kid, you okay?! Where are you!? What happened!?"

"I..im so..rr..y…" Mad Dawg wheezed before his head fell back to the rocks. As his world was enveloped by darkness, he could see some…thing, running towards him, it was a girl, and she seemed familiar. But right now, Mad Dawg wanted to sleep, he was in so much pain… and sleep was good…

"Kid!? You still there hermano?! Mad Dawg!? Mad Daw-" The phone screamed, but Mad Dawg heard a soft ringing, and then everything went black.


	9. Rock and Roar: Part 2

The small lake in Royal Woods was usually known for being serene and calm. Not many people came down to it, but usually people passing through would, mainly for an opportunity to take pictures. However, there was a resident of the town who not only frequented the small lake and nearby bog, but had even built a small hut nearby so she could come here and relax when she had time off. She also had several tanks set up so she could watch reptiles and frogs in the water without hurting them. However, when she stopped by on her way home today, she had seen something she hadn't expected to see. Some sort of large animal, bleeding profusely, the waters turning red as it struggled to pull itself upwards. And despite her eldest sisters' protests, she had hurried to see if she could help… whatever this thing was.

"I'm so sorry!"

Wham!

"Please don't be upset!"

Wham!

"I…I really am trying to help!"

Wham!

"I just… I just don't know what to do…"

Wham!

"Please! Say something!"

Wham!

"Please! Wake up!"

Wham!

A small geyser of water shot upwards and splashed back down on the leaves and dirt. With a rush of air, Mad Dawg bolted upwards, coughing and inhaling deeply, feeling his lungs burn and scream for air. He felt them struggling to contain any oxygen when they had been filling with water, and only now was the faintest bits of air getting into his system.

"Wha…what?" He muttered, still weaker than he had been in ages, possibly ever. He lifted an arm, which felt unnaturally heavy, and felt a crushing wave of fear as his arm hadn't fully changed back. Some parts of it still covered in fur, and his hand seemed more animal-like than human. "Oh… sh-"

Wham!

Mad Dawg was cut off mid curse as someone punched him in the chest. He wheezed outwards, now desperately trying to get air back into his body, and noting that slowly but surely, it was working.

"You're alive!" A small voice shouted, then a face hovered over his. His vision was still blurry and damaged, with his right eye seeming like it had suffered more damage than a simple bruise, but as his left eye slowly focused, he saw several familiar characteristics of someone he had met a few times.

"Lana?" Mad Dawg wheezed.

"You're alive!" Lana shouted again, seeming relieved beyond words. "I was so worried! What happened to you!?"

"Luna… gotta… find… Sam…" Mad Dawg wheezed, trying to summon enough strength to pull himself up, but the small Loud frowned and pushed him back down, making him wince in pain.

"Sorry… sorry… but you can't move! You're bleeding like crazy!" She exclaimed, her voice changing from relieved to somewhat disgusted, and when Dawg looked down, he saw seaweed, leaf's and medical tape had been used to make an impromptu bandage.

"Okay… they're on their way and… Oh my God."

Mad Dawg had turned his head as he heard a second voice speaking, seeing the eldest Loud sibling, Lori, entering the small branch house. Only for her face to turn sheet white when she saw Mad Dawg. He blinked in weak confusion, then the reason for her fear and shock slowly dawned on him.

His face was half-changed.

"Lana… Get away from him."

"But-"

"NOW!"

Lana winced and shuffled away, walking back over to her sister, who grabbed her hand and took a step back in fear.

"Lana!" Mad Dawg hoarsely called, making the pair freeze. The watched as his head slowly turned and his arm raised, as if he was reaching out for her. "Thank you…" He managed to get out. Maybe one of them replied, maybe they didn't. But the next thing Mad Dawg knew, the inky blackness of unconsciousness surrounded him, grabbed him and dragged him back down into it. He was too weak to fight it, too tired to argue, all he could do was submit to the serene stillness of unconsciousness.

"Lana… What _IS _that thing?!" Lori breathed shakily, looking at the unconscious figure on the ground. She knew _who _it was, but it seemed like he had been melted together with a fur suit. But even then, she saw bits of it retracting, as if his body was fighting to re-gain control.

"It's… It's Mad Dawg." The six-year-old frowned, stating the obvious. "He said he was wearing a costume for Luna's video."

Lori breathed slowly, trying to figure out what was happening right now. About ten minutes ago, her sister came screaming bloody murder, telling Lori that they needed an ambulance. RIGHT. NOW. Lori hadn't seen who she was talking about, but when she saw the red water, she hadn't thought twice about it. She had to run down the street to find a nearby street sign to tell them where they were, and only now was she seeing _who _was the bloody figure. Mad Dawg looked… well, monstrous. Not just because he was burned half to death, with some parts of his body being burned beyond any hope they'd heal, unless cosmetic surgery was involved, but because of his body itself. It was misshapen, splotches of fur coated it sporadically, and the proportions seemed all off. Then, when she saw his face, and more importantly, how it seemed to be divided in two, she felt all sense of belief that this was a costume or make-up shatter when she saw the teeth. Those weren't fake, they were very real. She assumed while she had run back-and-forth, that Lana had done her best to cover his wounds with sea weed and bandages. It seemed to be both a kind gesture, and something that saved his life. As she and her sister watched, the unmoving body began twitching and jerking about, the fur somehow absorbing back into his skin, and a good portion of it re-connecting with his long hair. His leg, which seemed like it belonged to a large animal, twisted at disgusting angles, cracking and snapping back to a regular structure. It seemed like the bones in his body were changing… on their own. Lana grabbed her leg in fear, watching as his head began pulsating, then re-shaping itself back to normal. His teeth… his teeth shattered, re-growing into a normal human's teeth.

"L..Lori? What happening?" Lana whimpered, the sight and sound clearly being a bit much for her. Lori had to admit, she was surprised her sister got this far with how messed up Dawg seemed.

"He… I… I don't know." Lori finally admitted. "He said he was a mutant… I think this is part of that."

"Luna…" A voice wheezed. The two Louds froze and looked back to Mad Dawg, who was lying on his back, seemingly still passed out. "I'm… sorry…"

The sisters looked to one another in confusion, but before they could do anything about their current situation, they heard the incoming sound of sirens.

_Thirteen Hours Later… _

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… _

"AAHHH!"

Gasping loudly, Mad Dawg bolted upright. His eyes were back to normal, and was greeted with cool white walls of a hospital. He heard the frequent beeping of the heart rate monitor and looked around. He was in a hospital gown, bandaged, and… that was it. His memory of the past few hours… gone. The last thing he remembered was the fire. Then… Nothing.

"S..sir?" A voice spoke up. Looking over, Mad Dawg blinked as he saw a nurse looking at him in shock. "Are you okay?"

"I… I was set on fire. How do you think I am!?" Mad Dawg asked, angrier than he intended.

"I meant, are you able to hear me, can you feel everything?" The nurse retorted, but then it was immediately clear she realized how un-professional that had been, and looked away awkwardly.

"Oh. Uh… Yeah…" Mad dawg muttered, realizing what she had been getting at.

As the nurse began to leave, Mad Dawg blinked, then called: "Ma'am?"

The nurse paused and turned around, and she noted the fear and pain in his eyes.

"Yes dear?"

"What… happened?" He asked. "How did I… get here?"

"Your sisters called an ambulance, they waited with you and then left a few hours ago. They said they'll be back soon though." She answered softly, her tone now seeming much more like a caring parent.

"Okay… Thanks." He breathed, then muttered under his breath: "Sisters?"

"Get some rest love, you need it." The nurse instructed, turning the lights down and leaving the door open somewhat. "If anything happens, hit the button on your left, someone will come. And every so often someone will stop by to check on you." She smiled, then frowned when she saw Mad Dawg shiver, looking down at his body, seeing the new scars and marks. He saw burn marks, burn marks that seemed like signed hair.

"_Or… fur…" _Mad Dawg's eyes widened as that thought went through his head. _"Oh. God… No… What… did they see?" _

Mad Dawg breathed shakily, as if he was about to break down crying, and lay back down on the bed, clutching at the sheets in fear, shutting his eyes, and hoping for the best. His body began to fall asleep, and he hoped when he opened his eyes, things would be better. He breathed slowly, refusing to think on what had just happened, trying to find a better place.

"_Hey. Buddy." _

Looking up, Mad Dawg saw an old man smile down at him. He blinked in surprise, and wanted to speak, but didn't feel like he was able to. He realized what this was…

"_You doin' okay?" _

Mad Dawg shook his head.

"_Yeah, I guessed as much." _T-Bone shrugged, frowning slightly. _"You haven't been sleepin' well these past few days. You wanna talk about it?" _

"_I…idunno…" _Mad Dawg mumbled, pulling his legs closer to his chest. _"Sh..shesscary…" _

"_Who? Sitara? Kid, she cares for you more than anyone he-" _

"_N..no. Night Surgeon…" _

"_The Night Surgeon? Aw, hell. Did Marcus show you one of his horror films again? I'm gonna punch that asshole next time I see him…" _

"_N..no…she…she's in my head." _Mad Dawg stammered out, words melding into one as he tried to collect himself. _"Sh..sh..she hurtsme…shecut…cutsme…" _

"_What the hell did do you go through?" _T-Bone muttered, blinking in surprise. Marcus had found this kid on the streets about two weeks ago, and while he didn't like it, they had to drug him to get him to sleep… The issue was, he didn't know his name, he didn't know where he came from… He knew nothing about himself.

"_Shesaysimmonster…" _Mad Dawg continued, still shaking somewhat. _"Thatwhatammonster." _

"_Hey, c'mon kid. Don't talk about yourself like that." _The old hacker said, putting a hand on his shoulder. _"You've got some weird power, but that's cool. If you let yourself believe you're a monster, then that's all you'll ever see yourself as. I know it can be scary, but you can trust us, we're here to help you."_

"_Mmhmm." _

"_You told Sitara about this?" _

"_No…" _

"_Why?" _

"_Mscared…nowannatellsecrets…" _

"…_kid, Sitara is by far the best person to talk to. You can trust her with anything. She'll help you along the way." _

"_Hm?" _Mad Dawg tilted his head and looked up at him.

"_I'm serious. We'll figure this out together, and so long as you've got at least one person you trust in your life, you can get through anything. I know it may seem better to roll solo, and sometimes… sometimes it is, but you can't live your whole life hiding secrets from everyone. So again… Sitara's the best to talk to. She cares about you. We all do."_

There was a silence, and Mad Dawg stopped shivering, feeling a bit better about himself.

"_Look, you can't tell Sitara 'bout this. Or we are BOTH screwed, okay?" _T-Bone added, picking up a beer and cracking one open before handing it to Mad Dawg. _"This is a secret that stays between you and me." _

Mad Dawg smiled and nodded, taking the beer.

"_Ray… are you giving a minor alcohol…?" _A mechanical voice asked as Wrench slid in from under the couch.

"_What… what the hell are you doing down there?" _T-Bone blinked.

"_The work the voices tell me to do…" _The masked hacker replied. T-Bone said nothing, then handed him a beer.

"_You tell Sitara, and I'm telling her what you showed the kid on your laptop." _

Wrench's mask changed to a shocked expression, and he seemed to lose his playful attitude. The threat seemed very, _very_ effective.

"_Alright. This stays between us three." _He agreed. Knocking back the beverage, Mad Dawg coughed as the sour, burning taste his tongue.

"_Blech! Yucky!" _He said with a sour face. The two laughed and looked back to him.

"_Kid. It's time to wake up." _

"_Huh?" _

"_Wake up… Wake up…" _

"Dawg? You there? C..could you please wake up?" A new voice spoke. Mad Dawg's eyes shot open, briefly blinded by the bright lights above him and groaned. He looked around, seeing the band members of Dragon's Blood, and a few of the Louds were in the room with him.

"What… what the shit…?" Mad Dawg mumbled. He looked around and but his lip. "What happened?"

"…dude." 'N' muttered. "You…you…"

"You were on _fire _dude! We thought you were _dead_!" Chunk exclaimed, then blinked in utter disbelief. "How… what kind of flame-retardant lining did that suit have!? You look like you shrugged off more than half that stuff!"

"Hah. You clearly don't know me." Mad Dawg laughed weakly, grinning, and revealing a missing tooth. "I'm… I'm pretty sure only God could strike me down at this point!"

He noticed that Rita and who he assumed to be Lynn Sr. Loud were looking in absolute amazement and shock at the teen lying in the hospital bed. Clearly, they had believed he _was _dead, or didn't believe he would be awake this fast. Truthfully, they had come with their kids and a few others to potentially explain that Dawg… Or Kace, unfortunately had passed away. But when they saw his injuries shrinking, and some of them fading away, followed by him suddenly waking up, they were left speechless.

"Dawg… Dawg I'm so sorry…" Luna whispered tears forming in her eyes. "I… I… I didn't mean to have this happen…"

"What?" Mad Dawg blinked.

"I didn't know what was happening, I should've seen what was going to happen… but I kept us going…and-"

"Is Sam okay?"

"-and I shouldn't've pushed you, and then none of this would've-"

"Is Sam okay?"

"-happened and now you're here in a bloody mess while I'm here as if nothing happened and-"

"Is Sam okay?" Mad Dawg groaned looking to 'N' and Chunk.

"Yeah. She's good man. You saved her from that fire." Chunk nodded in affirmation. "She's… she's really shook up about this, she said she wanted to see you more than anything, but was too upset to do so. I think the McBride kid's dads are talking with her right now."

"Okay… Okay. She's safe… Great…" Mad Dawg sighed, a sense of relief rushing over him.

"-you're burned horrifically and even with your ability, you still _felt_ all that and it's all my fault, and-"

"Luna." Mad Dawg spoke flatly.

"-I shouldn't have been so oblivioius, and you clearly were trying to talk with me the whole time and-"

"Luna."

"-now you're here, burned half to death, trying to heal from it all, and it's all my fault that you got hurt, and I was so focused on getting our band noticed that I put your life on the line and-"

"Luna!" Mad Dawg said a bit louder. His flat tone stopping the rocker from pacing around the room in a nervous panic. She bit her lip and looked to Mad Dawg, who was giving her an annoyed look as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please. For the love of everything. **Shut. The f**k. UP."**

There was a collective gasp of disbelief, shock and anger as Mad Dawg pulled himself up into a sitting position. He ignored the looks he was getting and stared directly into Luna's eyes.

"I know what you're going through right now." He said, matter-of-factly. "You think that this horrible accident was your fault, that you need to bear the guilt and punishment for what happened to me. You believe only you can carry this cross, and only you can bury this guilt. But please. STOP. This will destroy your life!"

Rubbing his face, Mad Dawg sighed deeply and continued.

"I did this myself once. I spent like, eight months avoiding my family after that whole thing with V back home. I believed this was it, that there was no possible way for me to ever face them again. That I had screwed up and they would be forever angry with me. So, I blamed myself for what V put me through, believed that my life was over and I had to carry that guilt with me. And y'know what? I was right. They _were _mad. They were mad it took me so long to come home so they could _help. _I screwed up, massively. V had a reason to be pissed off at me, but I made myself believe everyone's problems were my fault, and I let that drag me into the ground."

Seeing the confused look on Luna's face. Mad Dawg shook his head, his matted, messy and somewhat burned hair flopping about.

"_NOTHING _that happened yesterday was your fault." He said as if this was a fact no one could argue. "_I _was the one who offered to help, _I _was the one who was screwing around with the lights and chains, _I _was the one who didn't notice a chemical leak on set, _YOU _were playing your music, _CHUNK _was filming a video _SAM _was playing with you, and _N…_ I dunno. I really wasn't paying much attention to him."

"Thanks?" 'N' blinked.

"My point is, _NONE OF YOU _did anything that caused the accident. I know this looks bad, but the honest truth is this: If I died, it'd suck."

"That's an understatement." Lincoln said matter-of-factly.

"But like it or not, I don't have family here that would mourn me in this world." Mad Dawg continued. He knew those in front of him would miss him, but that was beside his point. "If _YOU _or Sam or anyone else was burned like I was, or died in that accident, that pain… that pain would never leave. And I won't let you blame yourself for an honest accident. I've made too many mistakes and refused to admit to them to let you admit to something you didn't do. So again. Please. Stop blaming yourself."

The room went silent, Chunk and 'N' staring in disbelief at what had just been said. The Louds felt… pain. They could sense that this was something Dawg struggled with, and it seemed like he might break down crying, but it also seemed like he _had _been here before.

"You… you said that you were from out of town." Chunk finally broke the silence. "But combine that with what your body was doing… Where are you from dude?!"

"Chunk… When I said out of town, I meant… well, out of this _Dimension_." Mad Dawg admitted.

"WHAT!?"

Mad Dawg rubbed his face, knowing this would be another three-paragraph conversation that the readers had seen at least three times now. He needed something different to talk about… Thankfully, and unfortunately, he got his wish.

"Look, we can talk about that later. Dawg, when we found you, you were covered in fur, and your body seemed all wrong. What happened?" Lori spoke up. "And then when the ambulance arrived, it looked like you were having a seizure as your whole body twisted back to normal! What was that!?"

"Right… that…" Mad Dawg muttered, looking around at who was in the room. "This… this is gonna sound crazy, but I need you to listen. Just… let me explain and all."

"It's part of your 'mutant' thing, isn't it?" Lana asked, getting a stern look from her mother.

"Exactly." Mad Dawg nodded. "See, to make a long, fifty-three-chapter fanfic, twenty-three of which went way off the rails, short. I was meant to be a genetic cure. My cells were designed to heal rapidly, like many of you have seen."

"That explains how most of your burns healed." Lincoln nodded.

"Yeah, so a buncha unimportant stuff happened, and then the cure was to be made into a living weapon. How original." Mad Dawg rolled his eyes in annoyance. His voice sounded much more like the Mad Dawg everyone knew, and that was a good sign. However, the shocked looks of disbelief on everyone else, weren't. "And… part of that… was what they called the 'Lycan Gene'. Essentially… that costume…"

Mad Dawg sighed, knowing everyone was listening now.

"That costume… is my body."

There was silence for a long while, then 'N' began laughing quietly, and it just got louder and louder. Finally, he seemed to be in full blown hysterics as he laughed at Mad Dawg.

"Oh… Wow… okay…" He finally collected himself, still laughing somewhat. "Aw, man. That… that was a good one! So, you're some sort of dimension-jumping werewolf? Dude. You should make a comic out of that!"

Mad Dawg's eyes narrowed and he bit his lip hard. His arm began shaking, and his heart rate shot up to astronomical levels. A silent alarm was triggered as everyone watched as Mad Dawg's right arm began… changing. Fur and muscles expanded outwards, creating the Beasts' arm, and more than a few present screamed somewhat, including the nurse who returned to see what caused the alarm.

"I'm sorry… You were saying?" Mad Dawg growled. 'N' seemed like he was moments away from peeing his pants. Slowly Luna walked over and place her hand on Mad Dawg's changed arm, feeling the soft fur that she had felt the other day.

"This… this is it." She confirmed. "This is what he was wearing when we were filming."

"So, you're telling me that you _knowingly _unleashed a monster designed to kill people into the same building as my daughter and her bandmates?!" Lynn Sr. asked, anger clear in his tone as he seemed to be putting together what everything he was finding out meant.

"No. If I unleashed it, we'd all be _dead._" Mad Dawg said gravely, and the look in his eyes made it clear he wasn't joking. "For the past month and a bit, I've been… forcing myself to change into that thing, and then fighting myself for control. Essentially, I've been taming myself."

"_Those claw marks…" _Lori thought, her mind flashing to the weird scratches on the trees in the woods. _"That was him!?" _

"I wouldn't have even _thought _about entering that building if I didn't have confidence I could control it, and an emergency plan." Mad Dawg continued, his face falling somewhat. "I… I had this thing, this… collar, sorta. That I put around my neck. If something went wrong, it would go off and inject a mixture of rhino tranquilizer and metal dust into my blood stream."

"Why metal dust?" Rita asked.

"If anything, non-organic is in my body, I can't heal or change." Mad Dawg explained. "Somehow the metal negates the ability my cells use to change… So, the metal shavings would stop me from getting further into that form, and the tranq would knock me out in about ten seconds, wherein I would revert to normal."

"Right… so, you started screaming for us to run when you caught on fire. You realized you were losing control!" 'N' rationalized. Mad Dawg just blinked in surprise.

"What? No! Dude! I was ON FIRE!" He exclaimed, then coughed aggressively. "I didn't want you guys getting hurt! Screw what happened to me!"

"I am… I am so confused." Chunk spoke up again, voicing everyone's current situation. "So… you're telling us you were calm during the shoot, as a giant monster-dog-thing, because you did monster yoga or something?"

"Uh… heh… right…" Mad Dawg said, seeming sheepish all of a sudden. "You guys remember the six pans of brownies I ate across the day?"

"Yeah. What about- Oh." Luna began but cut herself off when something clicked. "Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"Well then…"

"Thing is, that wasn't _supposed _to happen. Me showing up as that thing." Mad dawg sighed, rubbing his face. "I actually _did _have a costume, I was wearing it as I headed over to the shoot. But then…" Mad Dawg sighed and trailed off. "My better self got caught up in something. I saw this woman getting mugged, and I went to stop the guy. He threatened me, nothing new, but when he threatened the woman… something snapped. For the first time in probably ages, that beast and I agreed on the same thing."

"And that's why you showed up as that beast." 'N' concluded, and Mad Dawg nodded in confirmation.

"I was almost there, and I wasn't able to run off, change back to normal, text you guys I'd be late, then find something else to wear, I figured… Screw it. Wither this worked, or I'd end up passed out on a floor, and I'd leave this town by the end of the week."

Lynn Sr. seemed like he wanted to say something, but Mad Dawg beat him too it.

"It's been real fun hanging out with you guys, but… I think we have to call it quits here." He remarked with a frown. "I ain't saying we're not friends anymore, but I… I need some time, y'know?"

Judging by the reaction on the Loud parent's faces, that _wasn't _what he was planning on saying.

Whoops.

"That's… fair." Lincoln sighed, knowing that the mutant was right. Not only was there going to be a _ton _of questions from the hospital staff, but when he eventually got out of here, it was possible for things to go back to normal immediately. "Just… remember what you told Luna, y'know? Don't blame yourself too much."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know." Mad Dawg muttered. "I've been through the bad blood dance one too many times. I just… I need to figure out how I'm supposed to live without the people I care for getting hurt."

As a nurse arrived to replace some of his bandages, the visitors decided that was a good a time as any to take their leave. Most of them had questions, but they knew now wasn't the time to ask them. As they left, Mad Dawg noticed Lori giving him a look that seemed… dangerous.

"_Whatever…"_

Leaning back in his bed, he noticed Chunk, 'N' and Luna were the last to go. "Yo, Chunk!" He called, getting the roadies attention. "That last few bits we filmed, was it in focus?"

"Uh, yeah. We got a pretty good shot of you getting lit on fire." He remarked, somewhat sarcastically. "Why?"

"Awesome." Mad Dawg grinned. "This music video is gonna be legendary!"

Chunk blinked, shocked at what Dawg was saying, then grinned himself.

"You know it dude!" He replied with a nod, flashing him a 'rock on' sign before leaving the room.

As the Louds waited in the lobby for Lynn Sr. to get the van, Luna noticed Lori seemed really… agitated, might be the best word for how she seemed to be feeling right now.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked a raised brow being the only sign of curiosity.

"No. Not really." Lori frowned. "And I'm really surprised _I'M _the only one who seems upset by what just happened."

"What? That Dawg saved Sam's life and got horrifically burned trying to protect someone? Yeah, I have no issues with it." The rocker replied sarcastically.

"Luna. I'm telling you this as your older sister, and as someone who cares for you. _DO. NOT. _Hang around with that… thing… anymore. He's going to get you, Sam and everyone else killed!"

Luna's whole body recoiled in disgust as she took a step back from her sister.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" She exclaimed, a bit louder than she wanted. "Kace is as human as you or me! HE nearly _died SAVING SAM'S LIFE!" _

"No, he said it himself. He's a LIVING. WEAPON." Lori countered, her anger rising as well. "I get you live this whole 'rock thing' and you like taking risks a bit more than the rest of us, but Dawg, Kace, or whatever he's calling himself this time is going to get you killed, or worse!"

"…I have never seen this side of you." Luna remarked. "And frankly, I never want to see it again."

"Luna-"

"Don't care. Your two years older than me, but act like all of us can't make our own choices!"

"Maybe if your choices didn't end with a junkie nearly getting you _killed _that wouldn't be the case!"

The sisters realized most of the others had been listening, as it was hard to ignore their argument, and it was hard to tell who's side they were on. Both sisters glared at one another, and Lori saw something in Luna's eyes that… hurt. She didn't know what or how, or even how to explain it, but there was something…

Rita didn't want to admit to it, but she agreed somewhat with Lori. After what she had seen… she didn't know how to react. What as a parent supposed to do when a bombshell like this got dropped? Sure. He had told them all pretty clearly his past story, but then seeing what he was capable of, what he WAS. How was she supposed to react? This wasn't like when Luna admitted she was dating Sam, this was something that could put a lot of people in danger. But she felt like shutting him out would only push him towards that option.

Unbeknownst to them, Mad Dawg had effectively moved on from this whole issue, now trying to figure out what he needed to do to get out of here. He needed a Hydra Energy, and he felt a real craving for quesadillas.

"_Another five-chapter journey?" _He thought to himself, then noticed the hospital menu had them. _"Oh. Never mind." _

Still, in some twist of fate, Mad Dawg was walking away from a near death experience as casually as someone walked away from a bad blind date. Namely, ignoring the horrible mistake you made, and quickly finding the solution so you can move on with your life. However, he noted something seemed off with the Louds, but it seemed like a 'them' problem.

"_Alright." _Mad dawg thought, looking out the window, beginning to formulate an escape plan. _"How high up are we? If we're at the second or possibly third level, I should be able to survive a fall from that height, and my healing factor should kick in quick enough that I could run off…" _


	10. Rock and Roar: The Finale

"Nineteen."

"I'm sorry. WHAT?"

"He's tried… nineteen times to escape. That I've seen."

"…HOW!? He's been here a day and a half at most!"

"Well, we found him in the hall way with a carboard box, the cafeteria with a hydraulic jack, and the roof with a makeshift hang glider, just to name a few."

"Again. HOW!? The kid was burned half to death! How can he move?! Furthermore, where is he getting all this stuff!?"

The nurse sighed dramatically and rubbed her eyes. She didn't know, she didn't _want _to know, all she wanted was to make sure that one of the few patents on this floor was taken care of. The issue was, that patient was Mad Dawg. This boy had been brought to her room burned, mutilated, and his body deformed into some sort of animalistic form. Then, it proceeded to snap itself apart and re-form into a human, and the burns began fading as if they were temporary tattoos. Nothing about 'Kace Horatio Constantine' or 'Kace Loud', whichever was his real name, made sense. But what was really getting to her, was the fact that every few minutes, he seemed to be trying to throw himself out of a window or something, in some half-baked plan of escape. She understood his want to get out of here, as it wasn't fun being confined to a bed, but still…

"Doctor." Another doctor nodded, walking by.

"Doctor Krieger." The doctor nodded in reply, before looking to the nurse. "Val, I need to be honest with you for a second. Do you think this is some sort of prank? I mean… This kid doesn't seem… human."

"Yeah, well you saw what he looked like when he was dragged in here." Valentine sighed, shaking her head. "Furthermore, what kind of prank would this be? It seems highly unlikely that someone would set themselves on fire for laughs, or got to the extent in which he has in order to fake wounds like the ones he has. In all honesty, I don't think he's human. At least, not entirely."

"I hate the fact that I can't say you're wrong immediately. There's some degree in which you're most likely correct…"

"Doctor." Doctor Krieger nodded again, walking by with a length of fire hose.

"Doctor Krieger." The doctor nodded again, distracted by the conversation. "But if he isn't fully human, then what is he?"

"I don't like assuming anything about anyone, but if I had to guess, some sort of humanoid creature, possibly even a mutant." Valentine shrugged, her tone making it clear she didn't exactly like this idea much herself. "But… that's an assumption. And even then, I feel bad for the poor boy, he's clearly in pain…"

"Possibly, but then where did he come from?"

"Doctor."

"Hello again, Doctor Kreig-" The doctor began, but both froze when Doctor Krieger gave him a confused look.

"Again? I just arrived for my shift a minute ago."

The doctor and nurse looked to one another, confusion clear on their faces. They thought to what they had seen a few minutes ago, knowing Doctor Krieger had been here, he had walked by and…"But you were walking back and forth, and you had a fire hose and SONOFA-"

"FREEDOM!" Mad Dawg yelled as he jumped off of the roof of the hospital with a fire hose tired around his legs. If this plan worked, he'd be free! He'd be able to move on with his life and- "What did I tie this to?"

Thankfully, he had tied the hose to a vent, unfortunately, he tied it to a vent _grate_ in his hastiness. When the line snapped to a rigid halt, Mad Dawg found himself slamming into a window and cracking it, looking in on a terrified woman. Only for the grate to give out about three seconds later and causing him to fall about twelve feet to the bushes below, face-first.

"Ow."

Then the grate fell off of the roof and smashed into his head.

"Ow!"

Then the world went black again.

"Ow…"

When he woke up again, Mad Dawg found himself back in the hospital room he had been in for the past day. He groaned in annoyance as he saw his right hand had been effectively handcuffed to the side of the bed. It was clear the doctors were sick of his crap, and Mad Dawg was sick of theirs, despite their honest efforts to keep him safe and healthy, how dare they keep someone from hurting themselves repetitively in a way that was humane and caring, giving their time and energy to help someone less fortunate recover from a terrible accident that they had nothing to do with and were doing their best to-

"Wow, I'm an asshole." Mad Dawg blinked going quiet for a few moments. "…huh."

He looked to his cuffed hand, thinking through his options. It was either _127 Hours, Saw, _or_ Watchmen_-ing his hand to escape.

"_Or you could stay here for another day or two." _His mind chided him.

"_Have you seen the medical expenses these days!? If this was Canada, sure. But do you know expensive hospital bills are!? Do you have any idea how many families suffer due to the ineffective and unstable medical system put in place to essentially punish those who don't make enough to live a higher-class life in countries that don't have universal health care?!" _Another voice in his mind shouted.

"_Wow. That's a fair point… So, what's the plan?" _

"_Step one, get a gun. Step two, get a hostage. Step three… Step four, profit." _

"Leni's right. I need therapy." Mad Dawg muttered. "And a gun."

Silence.

"Wait. Not that second thing."

"_Yes. The second thing. Use that to get free, then get therapy."_

There was a long silence. Mad Dawg blinked, taking in what was going through his head, and he sighed, leaning back against the pillows. His mind began wandering, thinking about the doctors he had met in his life, thinking about his past escapades and mistakes he had-

"_Your actions led to this! What __human__ would do what you've done?! You're a monster!" _A female voice suddenly echoed through his head, refusing to go away despite his best efforts. Mad Dawg groaned, tossing and turning somewhat, as if that somehow would provide an escape. But there wasn't one, all he could do was lie there and think about what had happened. About what he had done.

"Is… Was Moira, right? Am I just a weapon? A monster?" He muttered, thinking things over. His mind went quiet, nothing being said by his inner monologue.

"…"

"…"

"_Nah!" _

"_Nah." _

"Nah…" Was collectively said, both aloud and in his mind.

Deciding rest was probably best, Mad Dawg pulled the blanket up over his chest, resting his hands behind his head. He thought about what to do… and finally decided to listen to some music. He strained but managed to reach the bag that Luna dropped off for him earlier, and dug about for a minute. Finding his old Walkman, he kept digging and found one of his homebrewed tapes, titled _Synaesthesia Auditiva Vol. 1_ smiling sadly, Mad Dawg thought about the Brazilian musician who made it. His friend who made it. Hitting play, he let the low-fi music begin to overtake his senses as he sighed, letting himself drift into a peaceful rest.

"_In a few hours, I'll try another escape plan…" _

Three hours later, Mad Dawg's newest escape plan had succeeded. He was free. He could get on with his life… He didn't know how he hadn't thought about it earlier honestly.

The plan was to simply walk to the front desk and sign himself out.

Sure, there were some protests, but Mad Dawg ignored them. Now, he cracked his back and headed down the road, heading towards the neighbourhood where he lived. It was a cool day, September had almost ended and it was steadily getting cooler. This didn't sit well with Dawg for two reasons; one, he liked the warmth of summer. B.) November was his birthday, and he never really enjoyed his 'birthday'. Still, he had about two months to figure out an excuse to avoid it, so he'd deal with it then.

A few hours passed, and Mad Dawg was bored again. He looked around his house, cleaning up some discarded cans and burger wrappers, before getting an idea… First, he needed to break into the Loud House…

"_Or you could call them like a normal- you've already got the crowbar and you're out the door." _His inner voice muttered.

Over with the Louds, Luna was listening to her music, thrashing her head somewhat as her headphones blared rock music. She was pretty excited all things considered, and aside from the 'flaming furry incident' as 'N' reffered to it, she was ready to see her band's video. Chunk apparently had been working all day and night on a rough edit of the video, mixing audio and levels to make it seem professional. Supposedly, he almost had it ready and would be bringing it over soon, so for now, all she could do was wait. She waved to Lincoln who walked by, seemingly in the middle of something and he absent-mindedly waved back.

"…we hit this street, taking at most two minutes per house, Clyde and I should be able… no…" The white-haired child muttered.

"Hey, Linc. Can you hold Lilly for a sec?" Luan asked, passing Lincoln the youngest Loud, who let out an unintelligent garble as he took her in one arm.

"Maybe… maybe we hit the homes for forty seconds each? How… how many houses would we be able to hit in an hour if we spent forty seconds at each?"

"Something like, one-fifty."

"Agh!" Lincoln exclaimed in shock, jumping somewhat as he looked up. "Mad Dawg!? Wh..where did… how did you get in here!?"

"That window was unlocked." Mad Dawg said, pointing to the window at the end of the hall on the third floor.

"…yeah. But… how… Never mind." He muttered, then saw one of his sisters passing by. "Hey, Lucy. Can you take Lilly for a sec?"

"Hm? Okay." Lucy said in her usual monotone, taking the baby and walking off, noticing Mad Dawg and then blinking in confusion as to both the fact that Mad Dawg was here, and how he got in.

"Uh, Dawg? Shouldn't you be in the hos-" Lincoln began awkwardly, but stopped when Mad Dawg lifted his shirt up and showed Lincoln his back, which was scarred, had burn marks, but seemed relatively fine. "Right. Your… powers…"

"Dude, you can call me a mutant. I won't take offence." Mad Dawg smirked, understanding the awkward tone.

"Hey, how's the mutant burn victim doing?" Lynn Jr. asked, seeing Mad Dawg as she passed by with some gear.

"Mutant!? How dare you!" Mad Dawg exclaimed in mock anger. Lynn Jr. blinked in confusion, then laughed, shaking her head and walking off. "You're weirder than Luan…" She muttered.

"I don't know if I should be complimented or offended." He mused, eyes narrowing somewhat, then looked over the long roll of paper that traveled across the hallway and to the top of the stairs. "Hey, uh. You planning a heist or something? What's with the cold-war era planning?"

"Oh, this." Lincoln blinked. "This is… this is part of the Halloween plan Clyde and I come up with every year. We're trying to maximize the amount of candy we get."

"You could just buy some." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Like, hit a Mac's, buy a bunch of stuff, call it a night…"

"We don't have jobs."

"Oh. Fair." Mad Dawg nodded. "Well, don't let me stop you. Halloween wasn't much of a big deal to me… I just watched gory horror movies and ate pizza…"

Sure, that wasn't entirely true, but he only spent one Halloween with Overwatch, then the second one was spent in a drugged-out Cult's sacrifice room in the middle of a fire fight.

"Listen, you know where Luna is? I needed to talk to her."

"Yeah, fourth room on the left." Lincoln said, looking back to his plan, and writing something down.

Casually strolling down, Mad Dawg stopped when he heard mechanical whirring and bubbling of some sort and looked into a room. He found himself looking into a small laboratory and felt a mixture of amusement, amazement and paranoia. Looking around, it was clear this was Lisa's room, and Mad Dawg chuckled softly at the sights surrounding him. There was so much that seemed like in this time was the edge of cutting tech-

"…_what?" _

You know what I mean… but compared to where he was from, seemed like ancient tech. But at the same time, it was clear she was making more than the best with what she had. Winston probably would've been her best friend if she was back in his home… Wait. Home… Lisa…

"_Can you build me a device that can open a portal to another dimension so I can go home?" _

"_No, but Lisa might be able too." _

"_Huh… I'll keep that in mind…" _

"_Maybe she can help… Maybe this is the way I get home! Maybe, with her brains and my insanity, we can build some sort of… Gate Star to get me home! Heck, if it works, they can ALL come check out my place! That'd be awesome! The breakthroughs they could make with the tech and gear back home could change their world, it could-"_

"Excuse you?"

Mad Dawg was ripped from his thoughts as he turned around, seeing Lisa looking up with an annoyed look on her face. It was clear she wasn't used to visitors, and it was clearer, she didn't know Mad Dawg too well.

"Oh. Sorry." Mad Dawg said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I uh… I was looking… looking for you."

"Me?" Lisa asked skeptically, raising a brow at him. "I heard you tell Lincoln you were looking for Luna."

"Yeah. I was, but I was also looking for you." Mad Dawg said, a thought coming to his mind. "Look, this is gonna sound really weird… do you know how to build some sort of teleporter?"

"If you're asking me to help you build a dimensional door way to get you to your home world, there are a number of issues with that." The scientist began. "First of all, I lack the components needed to build such a device, and it isn't easy to acquire them. Secondly, you ask a lot of someone you barely know, and I don't see what I would get out of this. Third, while I completely believe you are from some sort of other world, how do I know you won't return here at a later date with some sort of army? Fourth, even if I _had _the components required to build a device, that would leave us with the issue of lacking substantial power. Finally, I would like to re-state my previous point about our lack of trust. You showed up one night, proceeded to self-mutilate, then disappeared and wandered around the town for a month, then set yourself on fire, somehow changed into… SOMETHING, and now are standing here as if nothing had happened."

Mad Dawg took in what she said, and nodded in understanding. She _had _raised several good points, most of which could be solved through breaking and entering, or author intervention.

"Okay, what do you want from me?" He finally asked, shrugging slightly. He guessed either Lisa would say 'Nothing, now get out', or say 'There is one thing…'

"There is one thing…" She began, admittedly, it seemed like she didn't want to admit to it, perhaps out of pride, or out of awkwardness.

"_Knew it." _

"Yeah?"

"Look, I don't know how to day this, so I'll just say it." Lisa continued. "You intrigue and confound me. Your survival, your healing, your… mind. This might sound macabre or twisted, but I kind of want to see how you work."

"We talking like, dissection? Or something else?" Mad Dawg flatly asked, not liking where this was going.

"No, no. Nothing so morbid. I… I would like a sample of your blood." The scientist finally admitted.

"…I'm gonna have to say 'no' to that." Mad Dawg bit his lip and shook his head. He didn't want to say anything else about this, but when he saw the shocked look on Lisa's face, he knew he had to elaborate. "This is gonna sound crazy, but I can prove it. The last time someone took my blood, they tried to make weapons out of it. They made these things… these…" Mad Dawg trailed off, memories clawing their way to the forefront, and refusing to leave. "These Husks. They were essentially failed clones of me, and they weren't made to be human, they were made to be monsters. Genetic killing machines that did whatever they were ordered to do, to the point where they didn't think for themselves, they simply acted."

He rubbed his arm, looking at the marks from where the needles had been driven into his body, where he had come closer to death than even during Virus' game…

"My blood is also extremely toxic, apparently." Mad Dawg added, deciding to take a massive leap of faith. He slid his bag off and slowly dug through it. "It's why the whole 'cure' idea for me never came to be. My blood, mixed with the genetic healing properties, and the other thing I turn into, that cocktail of mad science turned out to be super successful, only because I spent sixteen years being exposed to it."

"You adapted to the toxicity, built up a natural immunity." Lisa stated, understanding where Mad Dawg was going with this.

"Pretty much." Mad Dawg nodded, taking out a folder. He looked at it, and for the first time, Lisa saw past Mad Dawg's act, she saw his real self the pain, the fear… it was all right in front of her. He slipped out a number of pages, and quickly flipped through it, as if inspecting it. "I've been holding onto this for too long, I kept meaning to destroy it… I guess that part of my past still has control over me… This won't tell you everything, but this should show you the kinda stuff I saw everyday back home. If you agree to help me, and we somehow pull it off, then when I get home, anything you want, I'll get it for you."

Lisa was shocked by the offer, and even more shocked by the diagram, formulas and equations she was looking at. There were ideas no one had even considered! Elements that didn't exist! How was this possible?! It shouldn't be possible!

But everything backed up Mad Dawg's claims, and the bits he left about his creation didn't lie. They lined up with extreme theories she had once considered, but discarded due to their unnatural foundations. All of this… if she somehow got Dawg back…

"I know you won't be able to claim this as your own discovery, but you would be the one who brought two worlds together." Mad Dawg said, taking the binder back and slipping it into his bag. "Just… something to think about."

Wordlessly, he left the room. He felt awkward about how he left their conversation, but like it or not, he kinda needed Lisa. She was the best shot he had at getting home in any capacity as he hadn't met anyone else in this town that might be able to point him in the direction of someone who could help…

"Mad Dawg? Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" A new voice ripped him out of his thoughts. He looked over and saw Leni blinking in shock at him being here, she also held Lily.

"Uh, maybe? I dunno." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I healed enough that I decided to bounce. Besides, there's a party at my place tonight, and how can I not be at a party at _my place?_" He grinned as he finished his statement, and Leni smirked in response.

"Any reason? Is it an 'I-escaped-the-police' kind of party?"

"Nah, that one was last week." Mad Dawg said with a dismissive wave. "It's a wrap party and barbecue for the band. And because I'm bored, and school is starting for you nerds. Although Skorch may have had this story begin in September but then retconned that to move it to July… I really don't know…"

"Huh. Okay." The blonde Loud blinked. "If you're looking for Luna, she's in her room."

"Cool, thanks for-"

"Hey, can you hold Lily for a minute?" Leni asked, suddenly passing the baby to Mad Dawg. Both of whom seemed equally confounded by what had just happened. Lily let out some unintelligible gibberish as Mad Dawg held the baby at arm's length, seeming almost frightened. "Thanks."

"Leni!" Mad Dawg called, annoyed. "Seriously?! What am I supposed to do with this?! What the he-"

"Agpth."

Mad Dawg stopped mid-curse and looked back to Lily, who looked to him with wonder and amusement. She let out another string of unintelligible attempts at words, and Mad dawg looked into her wide, hopeful eyes.

"…"

"Daupth?"

"…I will fight and die to protect you." Mad Dawg said with more honesty than he had ever shown. He rested Lily against his chest and smiled down at her. Passing by Luna's room, Mad Dawg leaned in to see the rocker sketching something.

"Yo. Luna." Mad Dawg called, making Luna jump in surprise and look up, taking her headphones off.

"Mad Dawg?! What are you doing here?!" She asked, surprised.

"Party. My place. Five. Chunk, 'N' and a few others'll be there. Can you tell Sam? She won't answer my messages."

"Yeah, about that…" Luna said, rubbing the back of her head. "I'll _try _to get her to come, but she's really torn up about what happened."

"Torn up? Don't ya mean burnt up?" Mad Dawg asked, only for a drum roll and cymbal to play out of nowhere. "Nice!"

"You're welcome!" Luan called.

"Dawg, I'm being serious." Luna stated flatly. To his credit, Dawg seemed to snap to attention. "She's terrified of talking to you. She's afraid you're gonna try and kill her or something. She thinks this is all her fault, she dropped outta the band!"

"Whoa. WHOA. She what!?" Mad Dawg asked, now fully entering the room. "That ain't right! It ain't her fault!"

"Exactly! I've been trying to tell her that, but she won't listen…" Luna sighed, rubbing her face. "She means the world to me, and so does the band. I don't want to be forced to choose one or the other."

"Huh. So that's a real problem." Mad Dawg muttered. Lily seemed to garble something in agreement. "You got any ideas?"

More unintelligible garbling.

"…okay, I'll keep that in mind."

Luna laughed slightly at the interaction, but shook her head.

"I can try and get her to come with me, but I think you need to talk to her, you need to re-assure her. And me."

"Reassure you of what?"

"That you're not gonna hurt her." Luna stated seriously. The reaction she got was not the one she wanted; Mad Dawg pasued, then started laughing.

"Okay! Wow!" He wheezed. "You think I'm gonna hold some lifelong grudge against Sam because of an honest mistake no one could've predicted?! That's a new one…"

"Not you. The… other you."

Mad Dawg stopped laughing almost immediately, realizing what she was getting at. Ooh… yeah… did that thing hold grudges? Would it seek vengeance? No! It was part of him, and he'd never hurt Sam.

…right?

"Can I be totally honest with you for a sec?" Luna added.

"Yeah, go right ahead."

"If there's one thing I've learned from hanging out with you, it's that the best experiences in life are often rewards from the biggest risks." The rocker calmly stated, and Mad Dawg seemed to think over what she was saying, then nodded.

"Wow, I needed to hear that." Mad Dawg said quietly, then smiled. "Thank you. If you can get me and Sam in a room, I'll try and talk to her."

With that, Mad Dawg left. At first, it looked like he was heading downstairs to leave. But then he diverted into the bathroom setting a confused Lilly down on the toilet, who gave him a 'I-both-am-not-trained-for-this-and-don't-need-to-go' look. Exhaling thought his nose, Mad Dawg looked around, before putting some toilet paper over Lily's eyes.

"You don't wanna see what's about to happen." He muttered.

When Lisa returned from getting a snack, she saw Mad Dawg with Lily waiting in her doorway.

"Uh, can I help you… again?" She asked. Slowly, Mad Dawg pulled out a small contained with a dark red liquid inside. It seemed darker than would be normal for a human, and Lisa gasped slightly when she realized what it was.

"First; this is all I'm giving you." Mad Dawg stated. "It's nothing personal, it's for your own safety. Second, if you can help me get home, there's so much more I have to show you. Third, this stuff is super toxic if ingested. Breathing or contact to skin isn't an issue, so don't worry about that. And D, if I found out you tried to make some sort of weapon out of this stuff, it will not end well." His eyes were narrowed as he finished his statement, and Lisa quietly nodded, taking the container. "Again, nothing personal. Just paranoid. But other than that, go nuts."

"Mad Dawg… I-"

"Also, I'm keeping Lily. She is my best friend and I will die to protect her."

Lisa sputtered in surprise, then laughed, surprising herself as she wasn't exactly known for her sense of humor.

"I believe my parents would have an issue with that." She finally stated.

"Hm… Cloning it is!" Mad Dawg declared before giving Lily a hug and handing her to Lincoln who was still busy with his planning. "Bye!"

To Lisa's shock, horror and acceptance, Mad Dawg jumped out of a nearby window.

"What's his problem?" She muttered. "Did doors kill someone he cared for?"

_Later that night… _

"Yoooo, Chunky Mate! How they hangin'?!" Mad Dawg laughed as he and Chunk high-fived and then gripped each other's hand in a greeting. It was the first time Dawg had seen Chunk since he visited him in the hospital, which may have been two days, but whatever. He and 'N' had arrived before anyone else, and Mad Dawg was chilling on his couch when they arrived.

"Dawg, I just wanna say…" Chunk began somberly, making Mad Dawg groan in annoyance. He knew there were gonna be a lot of apologies, but he didn't ca- "That this is one of the most badass music videos I have ever _seen_!"

"YEAH!" Mad Dawg roared victoriously, making all three laugh. "That's what I like to hear! Can I see it?!"

"Later." Chunk smirked, earning an annoyed look from Mad Dawg.

About thirty minutes later, Mad Dawg was out back, lighting the barbeque while Chunk and 'N' were blaring rock music. At this time, a few of the Louds had arrived, with some of the others not being able to make it. Ronnie Ann and Bobby had arrived as well, as well as Clyde and his parents.

"_Also… Sam's here. Good." _

"Yo! What's happenin'!?" Mad Dawg called, flipping a burger.

"Dawg. Why aren't you in a hospital!?" Was immediately asked.

"Because I'm fine!" Mad Dawg retorted.

"You were on FIRE!"

"And now I'm not!"

"Hold on. What happened?" Clyde blinked looking to Lincoln in utter disbelief.

"You didn't hear? Dawg got set on fire." Lincoln replied, somewhat awkwardly.

"And I'm fine!" Mad Dawg groaned, noticing Sam seemed to recoil and look away from him in shame. "I healed the worst of it within an hour. There's gonna be scars, but that's no big deal."

"Can we talk about the fact that you were on fire?"

"No." Mad Dawg said with a thumbs-up. "Who's hungry!?

As the night went on, things were pretty good. Jokes and insults were traded, and the food was surprisingly good. Mad Dawg finally met Clyde's parents and to the McBain boy's shock, Mad Dawg seemed rather calm and collected.

"Yeah, I'm from outta town." Mad Dawg nodded, flipping a few burgers onto a plate and sliding it over the table to the others. "It's… difficult to explain." He shrugged, taking a Phoenix Energy and cracking it open. Without warning, Clyde walked by and took it from him.

"Hey…"

"Dude, if you don't burn to death. These will stop your heart." Clyde stated. Mad dawg narrowed his eyes, then pulled a second can out and began chugging it. "Seriously! This can't be healthy!"

"I've been shot, stabbed, set on fire, and hit by a damn truck. And that's in the past few months!" Mad dawg retorted, then paused when he realized what he said and added: "Again, long story. Short form, I stopped a robber, played the knife game and failed, see last chapter, and when I woke up after a hangover and got hit by a truck."

He noticed Leni have a nervous look, but then sighed in relief as he mentioned 'Truck'.

"Anyhow…" He muttered, rubbing his face before grabbing a burger.

After the meal, 'N' and Luna set to tossing paper plates into a pit marked 'Burn' next to a metallic dragon head.

"Yo… Dawg? What's this?" 'N' called. Mad Dawg grinned and motioned for them to step back. Hitting a button, the eyes on the head lit up, and a lighter scratched, then a stream of fire shot out, setting fire to the paper plates.

"That's awesome! And also, probably illegal! So… Awesome!" 'N' exclaimed in excitement. "Since when can you do that!?"

"It was my job." Mad Dawg shrugged, turning off the propane tank to try and avoid another explosion. "I worked with a junk sculptor, and then just kept going. I taught myself mechanics and kept trying things, and eventually started going to desert heavy metal festivals, y'know? Doin' contests there and stuff. It's just… fun to make something with your hands."

About ten minutes later, everyone had either gotten ice cream and brownies, or some cold drink, and were settling down to watch the early draft of the music video. As they were though, Mad Dawg noticed Sam seemed to be getting ready to leave, and quietly slipped off to follow her. Going back into his house, it was clear something was wrong with her, and Mad Dawg knew what was wrong.

"Sam." He called, and sighed when Sam looked over her shoulder, then looked back down. "Sam!"

She did stop this time, shivering somewhat as she slowly turned around and looked at Mad Dawg.

"Y..yeah?" She stammered.

"Are you okay?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Dawg. I… I set you on fire!" Sam finally got out, seeming to be a few moments away from crying. "I..I saw you writing around in agony! You were burning to death!"

"But I didn't." Mad Dawg said with a shrug, knowing this was the wrong way to word that. "I know you feel guilty, I know you blame yourself, but please don't. I'm alive. I'm fine. It's cool."

Luna watched from the doorway, seeing her girlfriend and Mad Dawg talking. It was clear things were being repaired, and that was the best thing she could hope for. Eventually, they came back out and Mad Dawg jumped over the couch he had dragged outside and cracked another drink.

"Let's go!"

The video began with a shot of a, empty graveyard, and then the sound of a guitar riff began playing as a robed figure walked towards a grave. Looking down, the figure pulled a guitar out from somewhere and began playing. A twisted paw-hand burst from the ground as the Beast seemed to drag itself out of its tomb, growling as it did so as fog surrounded them. Admittedly, it was pretty fake fog clearly added afterwards, and Mad Dawg would have to mention to Chunk to remove it, or blend it better.

"Good levels." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Thanks."

As the video went on, the Beast continued stalking the set while Luna and Sam took the center stage.

"When the night grows cold, and the tombstones weep. Together we band to fight for our keep!" They began singing. "The mystical beast awakens from its sleep, the blood flows free. Now together the dragon shall empower me!"

The video kept going, Mad Dawg popping in and out, and Chunk seemed ot be getting nervous.

"You good?" Mad Dawg asked.

"It's the ending…" He muttered.

"Don't worry, it's a rough-"

"No, not that… I'm… You'll see." He admitted.

"_Together the beast awakens! The ground shakes and our minds break! When we all come together, our fate cannot be mistaken." _The song continued, reaching its ending._ "The blood of the Dragon Runs deep and in the eternal fires our souls will be left to sleep!"_

The camera cut to a shaky shot fire consuming the screen, and then without warning, the Beast's head tore through the flames, roaring in what seemed like animalistic fury, but was truly a cry for help. The spit, blood and ashes hit the lens as everyone jumped at the inhuman sound of the Beast's roar.

"…not bad." Mad Dawg nodded, smirking a little despite feeling awkward about seeing that shot. He felt like he should ask Chunk to remove it… But… honestly, who wold ever believe that the shot at the end was real?

Right!?

He briefly forgot who was sitting next to him.

"Like, really, REALLY awesome dude."

"Can't lie, that was pretty epic." Lincoln agreed.

"The darkness was appealing, I enjoyed it." Lucy said in her flat tone.

"You guys got some real talent." Bobby nodded.

"Nice music!"

"That ending was a bit much…"

"How did you guys do the animal costume?!"

"Hey, Dawg. Thanks. You helped a ton with it." Chunk grinned.

"Yo, dude. They're the ones that made the song!" Mad Dawg scoffed, pointing to Luna, Sam, and 'N'. "Stop giving me all the credit! I'm some idiot who accidentally got set on fire! And heck, you're the one who brought his altogether!"

A few seats over, Lori's eyes widened in horror as she saw what Mad Dawg _truly _was. And she promised then and there that he'd never hurt any of her family. No matter what that took.

"_I don't know what you are Dawg, but I know you aren't human. And I won't let you endanger my family. Even if I have to see to that myself…" _She thought grimly.

**A.N. And so another arc comes to a close! Up next, there'll be a chapter or two… then we'll be entering the final 'Arc'. There's one more multi-chapter story, and then the ending. Part of why I'm updating this now and not any of my others, is the final 'arc' takes place during Halloween, and if possible, I'd like to have that chapter up ON Halloween. **

**No promises tho.**

**I know this story seems short, and there's a lot of ideas I could go with, but I don't want to drag this out for three years a la my first story. I think I got a good ending that'll make sure everyone gets some story focus, and will end on a great note. However, not all issues may be resolved. Who knows… **

**Also, I haven't forgotten about the Seven Sins story Dawg's telling. **

**My next update should (hopefully) be the Dragon Ball Death Battle Fic, it's a double-feature so it's taking a bit more time than usual, but I'm working away on it. Thanks for stopping by! **


	11. Night Of The Beast Part 1

After watching the music video, the gathering seemed to mellow out, as that was the major event of the night. Everyone was impressed with the music, and more than a few were wondering _what _that thing was and where Mad Dawg got it. Then followed those questions up with what had happened to end up with Dawg in the hospital. Needless to say, those who didn't know much about the mutant were left… shocked, to put it mildly.

"Yes-"

"You were on fire?!"

"Again, yes-"

"How are you okay!?"

"Because-"

"You should be dead!"

"Yeah, but-"

"You need to go back!"

"No." Mad Dawg said flatly, before taking a long drink. "I've been through worse. And honestly, I'm fine now. I've gotten over the worst of-"

"You were on fire!"

"We've been over this!" Mad Dawg yelled exasperated, throwing his hand up in the air, annoyance clear on his face and in his voice. "I really, really appreciate the concern, but I'm okay! I'm pretty sure I could put a bullet into my head and I'd be fine!"

"You say that like you've done that before."

"Not in my head, but chest, legs, arms and lungs, yeah." Mad Dawg muttered under his breath, not really wanting to have this conversation. "I'm fine."

Everyone either knew Dawg well enough to let the issue go, or they were just unable to think of what else to say, so they let it go with an awkward air amongst them. Mad Dawg clearly noticed this… and didn't care. Now that he and Lisa had a sort-of partnership, there was a good chance that he'd be outta here by November. Frankly, if he didn't have to be here during that month, he'd really prefer it… Still, he didn't know what Lisa needed to help build a, doorway for lack of a better term. But once she knew, he'd grab 'em and get 'em to her, he could tell that while bonds were being made, he was playing a dangerous game… The issue was, he couldn't tell who he had upset, as unlike with the Bad Blood incident, none of them had tried to beat him into the ground. Yet…

"_Screw it." _Dawg thought, shaking his head slightly. _"I'll deal with this later." _

Mad Dawg looked around, then shut the propane on the barbeque off, knowing the less explosive gas he had around that could result in bad things, the better. He took a second and watched the group interacting. As per usual, Clyde and Lincoln were talking, the girls were socializing amongst themselves, the bad was laughing, and the parents were talking to one another. He felt like this was the kind of social event these people lived for. A chance to hang out, have some food and laughs…

So, why did Mad Dawg feel like an outsider?

Yes, he was an outsider in a literal sense, what with being from another dimension and all. But after the time he had spent here, he felt like he had friends, he felt happy! But now, when everyone was together… It didn't make sense. Was he just having an off day? Maybe…

"_And let me guess, here's where Virus show- yup. There's that freak." _Mad Dawg mentally sighed seeing the dead DJ in the corner of his vision. He seemed to distort and twitch like a broken animatronic, or a broken Omni-

"Hey." A voice spoke up, pulling Mad Dawg from his thoughts. Looking over, Mad dawg saw Lynn Sr. standing a few feet away.

"Sup." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Uh, are you alright? You kinda seemed to black out there for a second." The Loud Patriarch asked. His tone wasn't one of questioning and indifference, but one of concern. Mad Dawg let a small smile form on his face.

"Yeah, I'm good." He replied with a nod. "Just thinking about some stuff. Trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life in the coming months."

"Mind if I ask you something? It might come across as… offensive, but it's something I think needs to be asked." Mad Dawg simply nodded, signaling to go ahead: "When you were… in that costume, or other body, or… I'm sorry. I don't know how to explain it… what happened in your mind? You were going into a room with my daughter and her friends, and from the footage that was taken, it seemed like you were about two seconds away from killing everyone. Is that… still a thing? When you're like this?"

Mad Dawg looked away, seemingly embarrassed, before sighing, and rubbing his arm. For the first time, Mad Dawg seemed shameful, more than anything. "It's what they wanted me to be." He admitted. "Everything I've told you, the mutation, the being a living weapon, none of its false. They tried to make me violent, insane, yadda, yadda. Whenever I become that thing, I lose control. It's an animal, that's all it is. It thinks about violence, bloodshed, and nothing else. Truth be told though, it failed. I have control, and I fight it every time it wakes up. I'll make no secret I'm not exactly a great person, but hey. Who is? When I'm, well, me. I just want to be normal. I just want to try and live a normal life."

There was a silence from the pair, Lynn Sr. clearly felt awkward, not having expected the answer he got. But at the same time, it made a lot of sense, for what it was.

"Frankly, Mr. Loud? I don't know what to tell you." Mad Dawg finished with a shrug. "Sorry about that."

"This is all new to you, isn't it?" The father of the Louds asked, realizing something Mad Dawg hadn't said, but knew he was implying.

"Kinda. Yeah." Mad Dawg nodded, but smiled nonetheless as 'N' walked up. "But hey, it is what it is!"

Lincoln and Clyde were passing by when they overheard a quiet conversation happening a few feet away.

"Yo, we still good for later tonight?" 'N' asked, quietly, leaning over. "If this isn't a good time…"

"No. It has to be tonight." Mad Dawg said quietly. "If not… bad things are gonna happen. I can't let that happen."

"What's that about?" Clyde whispered.

"No idea…" Lincoln frowned. "You think it has to do with that monster thing?" Neither noticed the other few people who had noticed or overheard the conversation, and none of them reacted in a way that hinted towards that being the case. But it was clear there was the faintest hint of uneasiness in the air, but then again, they assumed it probably had to do with the band.

Tossing an empty can over his shoulder, Mad Dawg walked back to the group, slipping into the fray and joining a conversation. About an hour passed, everything was cleaned up and no one was in any hurry to get going, and the sun began to set, casting the yard in a cool night air with some stars visible among the clouds, Mad Dawg seemed to be plotting something that would either be awesome, or end up with him in the hospital.

"Hey, I got an idea." Mad Dawg smirked, looking up at the night sky, then to the others. "You guys wanna bounce over to Coyote Acers and keep goin' through the stories? I'm pretty sure we're done here, all things considered."

"Yes!" Lincoln and the few who knew what Mad Dawg was talking about exclaimed. The others looked to one another in confusion.

"Hold on, what?" Chunk blinked.

"Dawg's been telling these stories based on the seven deadly sins. They're _amazing_." Lincoln explained. Mad Dawg walked by, and grabbed some keys for his ATV and looked back to the group.

"Anyone who wants to ride with me, c'mon. Everyone else, I'll see you there!"

"I'm riding with him." Clyde remarked, surprising a few of those present, and Mad Dawg nodded. Getting onto his ride, he waited a few minutes until the others had dispersed, and then kicked the engine to life. The two tore off a bit faster than Clyde had expected, and Dawg just laughed at his surprise.

"C'mon man! I've barely even opened her up yet!" Mad Dawg laughed, grabbing the throttle and taking off once again. At first, Clyde was fairly unsettled by the fast, almost chaotic drive. But after a few minutes, he felt his stomach settle and let his fears melt away. "Hey, so apparently you and Linc are working on some stuff for Halloween. Anything I can do to help?"

"Like what?" Clyde shouted to be heard over the engine.

"Dude, I've spent most my life getting around through parkour and sneaking through places I shouldn't. I've found all sorts of secret passages and shortcuts around this town, if you want me, I can make you guys a map, or I can help solidify some of the paths so you can get around faster."

"You'd do that?"

"Totally!" Mad Dawg smirked. "Dude, I _LOVE _Halloween! This is the one time of the year when I can get away with just about _anything_! I've got some plans in the works, and it's gonna be amazing!" It was clear Mad Dawg wanted to say more, but Coyote Acers appeared in front of them and Mad Dawg skidded to a stop, killing the engine. When he and Clyde arrived at the fire pit, it was (predictably) deserted. Clyde and Dawg set to starting the fire, having it going as the others arrived. Lincoln, Lynn Jr., Luna, Lucy, Sam, Chunk, 'N', Ronnie Ann, Bobby and Leni showed up. Because of the increased numbers, another log was dragged over to provide extra seating. Mad Dawg seated himself in his usual spot and looked around, tossing some greener leaves onto the fire to get some smoke going.

"So, I know we have some newcomers." He remarked, looking around the fire. "I don't have the time, patience or gummy sharks to re-tell every story, so here's the long and short; my family told me tales of the seven deadly sins. Except each sin was a person who embodied that sin to such a large degree that they literally became that sin. The only way out is to be exceeded by someone who embodies it even more."

"Essentially it's like being a record holder?" Leni asked.

"Exactly." Mad Dawg nodded. "So, we've been through four of the seven. Gluttony, greed, envy and pride. That leaves three, and I'll only ever tell two tales at a time. Let's continue with them, shall we?"

"If Dawg doesn't get a job being a radio announcer of audiobook narrator, he's wasting his potential." Bobby remarked, impressed with Dawg's theatrics.

"There was a man named Tomas Kellerman who had similar goals to everyone; wealth and power. He had a simple mindset, work hard, reap the rewards. He may not have been the smartest, but he was a hard worker. Day by day, week by week, he worked to the best of his abilities at his places of work. He never really found a place that seemed right until he ended up in a granola processing plant. Years passed, he grew older, but he never lost his resolve and drive to ensure his quality was always achieved. This was noticed by those he worked with, and in time, they made him their leader. Because if someone had his work ethic, they wanted him to spearhead their projects to ensure quality."

"We've done pride…" Clyde muttered.

"And envy." Lynn Jr. added. "So, it can't be either one of those…"

"He became revolutionary, changing the way the world worked from the ground up." Mad Dawg continued. "But in time, he grew bored with it, so he hired others to do his job. He was so powerful, he could simply observe and guide them from what I guess you could almost call an outsider's position, and everyone was fine with it. Eventually, he stopped even doing that, just content to leave his creation in the hands of those he trusted."

"And he felt wrathful after someone stabbed him in the back?" Chunk asked.

Looking around, Mad Dawg took a quick drink, then smirked, those who had previously been here, knowing what that meant.

"However, not everyone felt the same way, and those he hired began making changes. At first, they were so small that no one noticed, but gradually they began changing things more noticeably. Even beginning to change the product itself. Tomas didn't like this, and wanted to change things back, but he was so complacent with his new position that whenever he tried to, he felt like he would deal with it tomorrow."

"Sloth." A few muttered.

"Well tomorrow came, and then there were more changes. Then more, then more…" Mad Dawg waved with a hand. "Tomas saw his creation becoming successful, making more money than he ever could've imagined, even when he was in charge… but since he hadn't kept a position as manager or CE, he was left on the sidelines, reaping none of the rewards, and all he had to do was simply get up and walk into the building to re-join with them and reap his wealth. But it was too late, the sin had taken hold, and he didn't _want _to do anything, so he was left where he lay, unable to move, his body wasted away to appoint where death didn't free him, food didn't satisfy him, and he simply lived on the pain and regret he felt internally. The feelings had had brought upon himself."

As he concluded the story, there was silence, then applause. The newcomers were amazed by Mad Dawg's improvisational storytelling skills, or whatever you wanted to call them, and the others were always entertained by his twisted tales of sin and suffering. Throwing some more leaves on the fire, Mad Dawg bit his lip.

"So… this one might _seem _messed up, but I promise you this isn't going where you think it does." He began awkwardly. "Quick question, who knows what the secondary definition for 'Lust' is?" As expected, the entire campfire went silent as everyone took in what he had just asked them. Mad Dawg laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, I swear this isn't going where you think it is." He admitted.

"Maybe you should just tell us what you're getting at." Bobby finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Okay, yeah… uh… it's defined as _'a passionate desire for something'_ and it doesn't have to be the more adult meaning." Mad Dawg explained. "It can be a lust for knowledge, a lust for power, and so on."

"Kinda seems like this would be the base sin for all these stories then." Clyde remarked. "Shadow lusted for knowledge, gluttony lusted for food…"

"In a sense, you're absolutely correct." Mad Dawg conceded. "But let me tell you how this sin went down. The tale I was told focused on a woman named Diamant LaCroix. A French noblewoman in the 1800's. To her, she loved _feeling_ joy. The warmth of love, the sense of excitement around friends, the rush of happiness from doing what you enjoy, that's what she _lived _for. She was rich, so she could afford to do all sorts of things that would bring her these feelings. And for the most part, she brought them onto others as well. Those who she was friends with shared in the happiness, the warmth the excitement…"

"This seems… familiar." 'N' remarked, musing over something.

"Anyhow, as time went on, the things that mad her happy gradually… didn't. She needed more, so she had more extravagant gatherings, bigger lifestyles, and for a time, she was sated. But eventually that failed too." Mad Dawg continued. "She grew desperate, and turned to extremes to try and make herself happy. Creating a world where she could live in with no limits, no end, and nothing to drag her down. She wanted to feel happy, she was desperate for those feelings… and she drove them out of her. Eventually, even the extremes failed her, and she gave up. She no longer felt… anything."

"Wow… that's… horrifying." Lincoln muttered. "How do you not feel… feelings?"

"Who knows." Chunk shrugged, equally taken aback by the sudden twist.

"In time, the only thing she felt was sadness, but even that ran out. She believed her life was over and wanted to move on to the afterlife, but because of the rules of the seven sins, she was now immortal. Cursed to live until someone surpassed her, or she was forgiven… however that worked."

"Wouldn't she just have to forgive herself?" Leni asked. "That doesn't seem too hard…"

"I think she wouldn't _feel _that she needed to, and therefore, she can't forgive herself." Lucy remarked dryly. "It's a cycle she's now trapped in forever."

"And there's no way out? Unless someone ends up worse than her… she's trapped forever?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Mad Dawg nodded. "But unlike others who were sentenced to drown for eternity, or be unable to move from their vices, she had an interesting case. As she lost all feeling, she became blue in a literal sense. Her blood slowed, and her body shut down. Eventually, she returned to her manor where it all began, and stood in front of her garden. The garden where she first felt the drive for more. With the last bits of emotion, she had, she whispered; _'Si c'est là que je reste, permettez-moi de rester non pas comme une personne coupée des sentiments, mais comme une statue, destinée à être aussi froide que la pierre pour l'éternité.' _As her body turned to stone."

"What did she say?" Ronnie asked, confused.

"Oh. My bad. She said: 'If this is where I remain, then let me remain not as a person cut off from feelings, but as a statue, destined to be as cold as stone for all eternity.' And so she did." Mad Dawg translated. "She turned to a statue, solid rock. Cold and unfeeling, until she would eventually be released by someone unfortunate enough to lust after a feeling of joy as much as she had… And that, my friends, is where the story ends."

Mad Dawg smiled sadly, thinking about the stories he was telling, and who they were based on. Was it right? Maybe not… but… eh, he didn't much care. They were stories, plain and simple. The group was impressed, but also accepted they needed to get going as it was getting late. 'N' offered to stay behind and help tear down the place, and he and Dawg quickly finished the job before looking around and then heading towards the forest, not noticing Leni and Ronnie-Anne following.

"You sure you wanna do this?" 'N' asked.

"We have no choice." Mad Dawg admitted.

"No, I'm with him on this." Bobby added, appearing from somewhere. "This might not be a good idea kid, there has to be a better way."

"But there isn't." Mad Dawg admitted. "I took the first steps, and it _worked_, but I need you guys, or… someone, here when we go further."

"Alright. Fine." Bobby sighed, raising his hands in defeat. "What do you need me to do?"

"There's a dart gun next to the log over there. If this goes wrong, don't hesitate and fire everything into me." Mad Dawg ordered as he picked up a large shackle and affixed it to his neck. "Other than that? Don't panic."

Once the two older men were in position, Mad Dawg breathed deeply, and then twitched, trying to change without pain being the motivator. It took about ten minutes, but something sparked and his whole body seemed to spaz out. The transformation was horrifying to watch and to listen to, and was a nightmare for Mad Dawg… but so far, he hadn't lost control. Once the 'Beast' had been awoken, Mad Dawg walked forward, but grunted in annoyance when he felt the chain-leash pull him back.

"Kid, you in there?" Bobby worked up the courage to ask, waving a hand in front of Mad Dawg (well, about seven feet away, but still) and watched as the Beast followed the hand. "I don't believe it…"

"This… this is both amazing… and terrifying." 'N' blinked. "Okay, Mad Dawg, uh… act casual."

It took a minute, but the Mad Dawg's body language changed to a much more… relaxed one. His head still snapped back and forth involuntarily when 'N' or Bobby moved, and it was clear sudden movements was a bad idea, but he was trying his best to keep calm.

"That… is… amazing…" Ronnie-Ann whispered. "I thought they were lying!"

Leni didn't move, she didn't breathe. How was someone supposed to react to a lanky teenager turning into a werewolf-hybrid monster!? On the one hand, yeah. That was really cool, but on the other hand, it seemed like his hands could crush her skull without a second thought. Still, all they needed to do was remain quiet back away and-

Leni's phone when off in her pocket, vibrating and playing her ringtone loudly. She jumped in shock, and the whole mood seemed to shift. The hopeful anticipation was shattered into terrifying fury as Mad Dawg lunged towards the noise, pulling at the tree and threatening to tear it out at the roots. It was clear his animalistic side had taken over, and he was NOT happy.

"Hey! HEY!" Bobby shouted, getting Mad Dawg's attention, but not aiming the dart gun at him. "Tranquilo, kid. Calm down…" His words didn't have the effect he was hoping for, as Mad Dawg's back arched aggressively as he turned to face him, like a coyote trying to assert dominance. Bobby looked to his hand, and threw the dart gun away. The simple action confusing Mad Dawg and freaking 'N' out. "Okay, calm down. We good?"

"Rrrhh…" Was the only response he got.

"Leni? Is that you?" Bobby called, looking to where the faint light was coming from. He waited for about ten seconds and still didn't get a response. "Leni, if it is you… I need you to trust me."

"What?" Leni finally mustered up the courage to say.

"I need you… to come into the clearing." Bobby managed to get out.

"What?!" Leni exclaimed in shock.

"I think he's right." 'N' added, keeping his eyes on Mad dawg, who was seemingly fighting with himself, shifting from angry to calm, then back to angry, then back to calm. "I think Mad Dawg thinks you're here to attack him, or at least, this animal side does!"

"Okay, and it probably wants me dead! I'm not coming out!"

"No!" Mad Dawg snarled, seemingly trying to collect himself. "Not… hurt… you…"

There was something in the way he spoke, the struggle to formulate words competently, that made Leni and Ronnie pause. He didn't sound angry, he sounded almost desperate. Finally, the older Loud sighed in defeat.

"Bobby, if he kills me, we are SO breaking up!" She stated for the record. Slowly but surely, Leni walked into the clearing, seeing Mad Dawg looking directly at her. To everyone's surprise, Mad Dawg stood to his full height in this form, and then sat down with his back against the tree. He watched Leni and Ronni come forward, and seemed to have calmed down a great deal, now simply wanting to know if anyone else was out there.

"Yes! YES!" 'N' shouted victoriously. "You're doing it Dawg! You've got control!"

"Sorry, you mind explaining to me what's happening here?" Ronnie-Ann asked looking around. Bobby seemed shocked to see her, and looked to 'N', who clearly seemed to know the most.

"So, after the kid got Cajun-fired, he contacted me saying he needed help. Turns out, he has _some _control over this side, hence why he could film with us. But he wants to control this on like, another level. He wants to train himself to be as calm as he is when he's human. So, I agreed to help, and he somehow talked Bobby into helping as well."

"Does that work?" Leni asked, only to jump again when she saw Mad Dawg walk up beside her. He was… massive, to say the least. His body was animalistic in most ways, but still somewhat human, it didn't look like those costumes she had seen people wear online, it seemed like an animal. "Uh, hi?"

"Hey." Mad Dawg nodded. Slowly, Leni reached out and rubbed some of the fur on Mad Dawg's arm, and then her eyes widened and sparkled like diamonds.

"SO… FLUFFY!" She exclaimed, hugging Mad Dawg's arm, leaving the mutant looking around in absolute confusion. "I really hope this is your hair, and not… never mind."

"It's… not…" Mad Dawg muttered, looking down at Leni, who was still enjoying the feel of Mad Dawg's fur. "It's not _that _fluffy…" He didn't notice Bobby walk behind him and stick something into his neck, and with a _CLANK! _The collar fell to the ground. Now, everyone stood back and watched as Mad Dawg took a few deep breaths.

"I… feel…" He managed to get out, then paused, seemingly correcting himself. "I feel... good."

"That's amazing!" Bobby smiled, looking at Mad Dawg, and simply taken aback by what was standing in front of him.

"Yeah… I feel good!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, and then suddenly ran off, shocking everyone present. Running deeper into the woods, Mad Dawg laughed and began jumping off of a stone, and then swinging off of a few trees as he flew through the forest. For the first time in his entire life, he felt like he was in control of this side of him. He felt like this wasn't 'another side' of him, it felt like it _WAS _him.

Running on his hind legs, Mad Dawg skidded to a stop, on a large rock that seemed to reach out for the sky. Looking down, he could see a good chunk of Royal Woods below him. Laughing, and for the first time, feeling excited about himself in this form. Mad Dawg looked at his hands, then up to the moon, and let out a loud cheer.

"WOOOHOO!" He roared into the sky, with what to some may have sounded like an animal's howl, other may have heard a sports cheer, but to Mad Dawg, this cry was one thing, and one thing alone.

Liberating.


	12. Night Of The Beast Part 2

September had come and gone, the first leaves were turning orange, and fall was slowly seeping its way into the town's atmosphere. In the crisp cool night, a figure ran through the woods, causing animals everywhere to run in panic. Darting about the trees, using the fallen nature as launch pads to keep himself running., the unseen being moved as if his very life depended on it Leaves which had fallen were kicked up in a tornado or speed and colour as heavy footprints were left in the soft earth. The figure was practically flying now, swinging back and forth from the branches, running along them and using some to launch himself further through the woods, tearing up a sort of path as he went. Mad Dawg felt the wind against his face as he ran, noting what trees were where, and how far along he was. Finally, he decided he had seen enough and skidded to a stop, landing nearby a stump which in one fluid motion, continuing from his run, he sat down on.

"All right… that took me… two minutes, forty-two seconds…" He mused, writing something down. "And I'm… oh, not too far off! Awesome!" Mad Dawg continued sketching the small map he had made of his path, noting that there were a number of things that needed to be moved or cleared out; rocks, rotting trees, ect. before his path would be usable to all.

Over the past few weeks, or however long it had been, Mad Dawg's life had gotten a lot weirder, and a lot… potentially better. He returned to his 'training and taming' as Bobby referred to it with the older Santiago and a few others, namely Leni, Ronnie-Ann, 'N' and Lucy. The latter seemed the most interested by all this, and despite the initial awkward and semi-hostile introductions, it seemed that Mad Dawg was finally winning the battle with the beast. What became clear was when he changed, he had to fight more than anything in that moment. His brain was literally being re-wired internally, and if he was able to convince it to be calm, he'd be okay. Heck, he had even gotten a better grasp on speaking while in this form, something he could only do in small bursts, if at all, before. But if he let it run wild, he wouldn't go berserk and lash out at anyone, but he had been shocked more than once (something Bobby repetitively apologized _profusely _for), even refusing to be the one in charge of doing so one night. This resulted in him leaving Leni to do it, which she promptly on passed to Ronnie-Ann after Mad Dawg looked at her. To her credit, the young Santiago girl didn't hold back, she let Dawg have it if he was acting up. Truth be told, Mad Dawg kinda respected her for it.

Then as September ended, Mad Dawg looked ahead to All Hallows Eve, and then Día de Muertos a few days later. Truth be told, this was Dawg's _favourite _time of year! Not just because when fall came around, the best cider was available, (and yes, he liked cider more than beer, come at him!). But because Halloween was one of the few times when he could just… be himself, and so long as no one got hurt or killed, there were no negative repercussions for his actions. At least, ones he cared about. Growing up, including his Post-Dedsec, Pre-Overwatch days, Halloween was always a special time for Mad Dawg… and there was something about Día de Muertos that had always fascinated him. Maybe the colours, maybe the art, he really couldn't say what drew him towards this cultural celebration.

When he was younger, he had jumped on a few trains and made his way down to Ecatepec to see the festivities. It was… disconsolate, to be totally honest. He had expected it to be more along the lines of what Halloween was, and he quickly picked up on the ideals of the Day of the Dead, which only led him to remember and realize that again… he was alone. Observing from the rooftops, he watched as families gathered around gravesites of those long gone, remembering the days when they were together, but refusing to let the memories fade away. All the while, Mad Dawg thought about those he had lost, and… nothing…

Honestly, it hurt a lot more than he expected…

He didn't know if his family was alive, dead, or even who they were. But he did know that his other family… didn't want him back… Being so young at this point in his life, many would assume this would've led to a trouble childhood where the trauma and pain remained present, especially now with the ideals of the Day of the Dead mixed with it. But it was quite the opposite. Mad Dawg decided that even if he was 'dead' to his family, there were still good times, and he couldn't just ignore them! So, for the next few years, whenever November second rolled around, Mad Dawg took the time to think back to the ones he had called his family, and silently wish there was some way he could go back.

Presently, things were different. Mad Dawg _had _a family, and two members of it were gone now, and technically so was he, but that meant things might be different. Until the issue arose that he was now in another dimension, so he figured he'd just observe from afar once more. After all, wasn't the point of the holiday remembering your blood relatives?

"_Oh well… I can figure that out eventually…" _He thought, sighing deeply. He had crashed slightly after the adrenaline rush, and stood up, suddenly feeling somewhat heavy. Maybe it was time to go home, and go to bed.

"Hey, Mad Dawg." A voice came. Turning around, Mad Dawg was surprised to see Lincoln not too far away.

"Yo, Link. What you doin' out here? Don't you have school tomorrow?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Really? Mr.-I-got-set-on-fire-and-clearly-don't-care-for-rules is concerned about my education? Who are you and what did you do with Mad Dawg?"

"Well, do you want to turn out like me?" Mad Dawg asked skeptically, giving an agitated look before he laughed it off. "No, that's what I thought."

"Right…" The white-haired boy rolled his eyes. "I was heading home and saw you making tracks through here like there was no tomorrow. Were you running from the cops or something?"

"Nah, nothing quite as dramatic or fun." Mad Dawg waved, handing Lincoln the map he had been drawing. "So, I got to thinking about Halloween, the town isn't massive, but it's not small either. If you and Clyde want to get as much candy as you can, I got to thinking about shortcuts, y'know? Or ways to get around the city faster, even some rooftop pathways to help you slip by and cut travel time in two."

"Clyde mentioned you had been talking about this." Lincoln replied, looking over the map. "And it's a great idea. There's just one massive issue." After a few moments, he explained: "We can't climb like you. You've been doing parkour since you got here, and Clyde and I just… can't. It's not a matter of practice, the stuff you do might _kill _us!"

"Which is why I'm blazing this trail!" Mad Dawg countered. "I know you two aren't nearly as cool as me, and your weak pathetic human bodies will probably die if you try and be as awesome as me, so I figured I'd make paths that wouldn't kill you. Most likely."

"You're saying we're weak, yet you were out for three days after a small fire."

Mad Dawg recoiled, looking down in annoyance, disgust, and respect. "How… _dare_ you." He finally got out. His overdramatic reaction just made the young Loud boy laugh, and Mad Dawg couldn't help but laugh too. It felt good, like his problems were drifting away. Which truth be told, they kinda were. Virus hadn't shown up for a bit, and he felt good about how things were going for the time being.

"Gotta ask, what exactly are you and Lisa doing?" Lincoln asked skeptically. "You keep showing up in her room, and you guys are building a door or something… You're not gonna get her arrested, right?"

"Most likely no." Mad Dawg shrugged, his answer not being the best thing to say. "She's helping me build a… I guess you can call it a dimensional doorway. If all goes as planned, I should be able to use it to get home! And side note, your sister is _frighteningly _smart." He chuckled, but noticed Lincoln's face fall somewhat. "You good, man?"

"Look… I know we don't know each other as well as you and Luna know each other, but… I mean, it's your life, your choice and your family… but did you ever think you didn't _have _to go?" He asked, and Mad Dawg's face said everything. "Sorry, I-"

"Yeah, I've thought about it." Mad Dawg admitted after a few moments of silence where he seemed to debate if he wanted to talk. "A lot, actually…" He looked around, then sighed. "Let's say this doorway works, what am I supposed to do? Just show up after being dead and say 'Sike! That's the wrong corpse!' and act like nothing happened? I mean, my sort-of dad is dead, and after everything I did back home… Maybe it'd be better if I stayed here…"

The two went quiet, both thinking about things, until the silence was broken.

"I mean, you guys have been great. I've dropped some of my issues, found a home… but I don't really care. No offence. But I want to go home. I can't just abandon them like that, let them think I'm dead? I-I… I want my family…" He looked back to Lincoln, and realized what he had said. To Mad Dawg, it made sense, but to anyone else… "Oh crap! No! Dude! I'm sorry! I..I didn't mean it like that!"

"No, I get it, I get it." Lincoln shook his head. "They think you're _dead, _I can't imagine what that would be like… thinking one of my sisters is gone? And then they just show up one day?"

"Seems like they kinda learned what that was like with you…" Mad Dawg muttered.

"Are we _still _talking about that!?" Lincoln asked, somewhat offended. "Part of moving on from an issue is, y'know, _MOVING ON." _

There was a sour air that surrounded the two of them, and finally it seemed to dissipate as they thought of their respective answers. "Yeah, you're right." The mutant nodded. "I bring it up, because aside from that, and apparently a legit apocalypse bunker on April Fool's day, there isn't a lot I know about your family that suggests major issues."

"Aw man, April Fool's was a nightmare…" Lincoln groaned sitting down on a log. "I just… man… I…"

"Ya don't need to talk about it, Snowflame." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I don't need to know all your dirty secrets."

"Snowflame?"

"Oh, right. Uh… he was this really stupid and yet kind of awesome comic villain from some of the books I read back home." Mad Dawg explained, laughing sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "He wore orange and had white hair…"

"What was his powers?" Lincoln asked, curiously.

"Uh…" Mad Dawg bit his lip, clearly not wanting to answer this question. "Hang on. What's the rating on this story?"

"I think K+, I could be wrong."

"Aye, it's a bit too mature for a K+ story to talk about." Mad Dawg laughed, embarrassed.

"And yet everything you've said and done is okay?"

"Hey, I never said the author knew what he was doing." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Besides, have you _seen _the current rating systems for games and TV? You can say just about anything you want, be as violent as you want, just no four-letter-fun words or blood, and you're free to go."

"Yeah, you're kinda right." Lincoln nodded. "Comics too, it feels like you can get away with anything in a comic, and no one looks twice because 'it's for kids' or something like that."

"Right!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed. "And then you get companies run by fifty-year-old's without kids who think what kids want is violence and gritty content with dark, brooding storylines and characters. Rather than heroic characters being, y'know, heroes!"

"Oh, don't I know it." Lincoln rolled his eyes. "And don't get me wrong, a darker, somewhat more mature story can work! I like it when characters who seem cartoony are given more depth and maturity, but they need to keep what made them work, otherwise you completely ruin the character. But you've really gotta _know _the character, and sometimes that dark and gritty vibe just won't work."

"But sometimes you gotta commend them for trying, even if it does get horribly screwed up in the process." Mad Dawg concluded, cracking a Phoenix Energy.

"Well, whatever the case is, this might work!" Lincoln remarked looking over the map. "Actually, I never even thought about some of these places! Yeah, Clyde and I could definitely use this…"

"The one downside is lighting." Mad Dawg explained with a slight frown. "I thought about trying to find a way to illuminate the path, but fire was a massive no. We don't need a forest fire, and lamps would give the place away, so you might be on your own for that."

"Hey, I'm the man with a plan!" Lincoln grinned. "If you can keep the path cleared, Clyde and I can find our way!"

"All right! That's what I like to hear!" Mad Dawg smirked with an affirmative nod. "I call this one, Project: Trailer Park Boys."

Lincoln looked to the map in confusion, then saw where the path ended. "Ah, that's clever." He nodded. "Either way, I think I should get going before my parents wonder where I am."

"No problem, I'll get you outta here." Mad Dawg nodded, jumping up and setting off. As the pair walked, they kicked branches off of the newly forming path, and Lincoln was surprised that no one seemed to have found this place yet. It was effectively a back door all across town! What he _didn't _know, was that part of why no one had found this place, was because it used to be a hangout for some… troubled youth, so to say. After they had dispersed, the town didn't really bother cleaning the place up… because who wants to take responsibility for that? Something else Lincoln didn't see was the bag of dirty needles Mad Dawg was carrying, and Mad Dawg decided that he didn't need to know about that…

"I just hope Hank and Hawk don't ruin things again…" Lincoln sighed to himself as they returned to the sidewalk. Mad Dawg raised a brow and looked down to him.

"Who?"

"Ugh, they're these two jerks who unfortunately hang around." Lincoln grumbled. "Last year we scared them to a point that they won't come within fifty feet of my family-"

"Really!? Dude, that's awesome!" Mad Dawg laughed. Lincoln was taken aback for a second, then grinned himself.

"Actually, I think you would've loved it! It was right up with your brand of 'extreme but not mean' lifestyle."

"Extreme but not mean…" Mad Dawg murmured to himself. "I'm stealing that."

"Go right ahead. But yeah, they're the local bullies…" Lincoln frowned. "They haven't hurt my sisters, but… y'know?"

"How old are they?" Mad Dawg suddenly asked. "Older than me? Younger?"

"Huh? Oh, uh… I'd say maybe a year younger than you, maybe two. Why?" Lincoln replied, then something clicked in his brain and he looked to Mad Dawg nervously. "Hey, no. Don't go looking for a fight Dawg!"

"I'm not." Mad Dawg replied with a sigh. "Yet."

"Mad Dawg-"

"Okay, okay… look. I'm asking because if a fight _does _happen, I don't wanna look like the bad guy for beating up two kids." Mad Dawg said defensively. Lincoln looked up at him, blinking at the mutant whose face was cast in slight shadow due to the lamplight.

"…eh, all right." Lincoln shrugged.

The two kept walking, Lincoln noting that Mad Dawg seemed to almost sway as he walked, as if listening to some sort of invisible music. It wasn't too noticeable, but it was kinda interesting.

"Hey, don't take this as anything other than a question." Mad Dawg began, and Lincoln gave him a look. "Is there anything between you and Ann?"

"Okay, _never _call her that to her face." Lincoln said sternly, but also mixed with 'I am begging you, for your own health, listen to me.' "She _hates_ when people call her that. I don't know why, but… yeah."

"Right, but your avoiding my question." Mad Dawg replied.

"…no. There isn't." Lincoln said. "We're friends, that's all."

"You sure?"

"Dawg, this isn't funny."

"Fine, fine." Mad Dawg said, raiding his hands, feeling the bag of needles bounce slightly. "I was just asking."

"Whatever…"

The two returned to walking in silence for a minute, looking at the streets and leaves illuminated by street lights and the lights of houses. There was something almost, mysterious, about it.

"Listen, about what I asked…" Lincoln said awkwardly. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot about leaving or staying, it's your choice man. It's just… I don't want you thinking that you're alone here."

Mad Dawg stopped and leaned against a lamp post. He looked out across the street, almost as if he was looking for someone, and then looked back to Lincoln. His face was the same as when he talked about his past, or his other side. It was both unreadable, and yet spoke volumes without a word being uttered.

"Linc, I…" Mad Dawg began but trailed off, seemingly losing steam. "I'm tired, let's get home."

"Oh, uh, okay." Lincoln nodded, the two making their way back to the Loud house in an uncomfortable silence. When they arrived, Mad Dawg nodded and began to walk away. "Hey! Mad Dawg!"

The mutant stopped and turned around, looking to Lincoln with a raised brow.

"We good?"

"Yeah. We're good." Mad Dawg nodded, giving a half smile. "I'll be okay kid."

Lincoln didn't feel completely reassured, and felt like he had hurt Mad Dawg in some way, but decided that now wasn't the time to try and talk. He headed to his home, and stopped to watch Dawg walk away, who seemed to trip over something and fell forward, catching himself.

"I'm good! Raised… raised concrete!" He called, and kept walking. Not noticing the bag of discarded needles had torn somewhat, and a single needle clattered to the ground.

As he kept walking, Mad Dawg heard someone walking behind him. At first, he didn't much care, but then the figure started speaking.

"hEY."

"No." Mad Dawg said sternly.

"MaD DaWg."

"You're not really here, go away."

"mAd dAWg."

"You're not real."

"BeTA."

That _did _get Mad Dawg to stop and whirl around, seeing Virus (or what was left of him) standing a few feet away.

"For f- What do you want!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed in exasperation. "You and me?! We're done! You're dead, and I moved on! What more do you want from me!?"

"If wE'rE dONe. WhY aM I sTIlL hERE?" Virus asked, tilting his head in an unsettling manner. "YOu kNoW tHErE iSNt an EAsy wAy oUT ThIS tiME…"

"What. Do you want!?" Mad Dawg demanded.

"WhAt iS nOT YoURs tO gIVe, aND wHaT yOU cAN't REciEVE." Virus remarked. "WHaT YOu tOoK fROm mY sISteR!"

Mad Dawg breathed for a second, then scowled, realizing what Virus was getting at. This wasn't something he wanted to deal with now, so he turned around and kept heading for home. Entering his house, he cursed as he stumbled and tripped over something, looking around and seeing the mass of metal, wires and wood he had been using to create his newest… idea. He felt himself smile, and felt the odd pressure that Virus brought disappear. As he went to his fridge, he got a cider, cracked it open, and sat down to watch whatever was on. Tonight, a movie called _Lavalantula _was on… and it was exactly what Dawg needed to cap off this evening.

"_Ah man, Halloween's gonna be AWESOME!" _He thought as he took a drink. _"This is gonna break their minds…"_

When next morning came, Mad Dawg groaned as he woke up on the floor in his basement. He wasn't hungover, but he had spent most of last night binging bad monster films and working on stuff in the basement, and eventually had given up on staying awake, apparently.

"What happened last night…" He muttered, pulling himself up by grabbing onto his workbench. It took a minute, but Mad Dawg finally got to a standing position. Grabbing a blow torch, Mad Dawg set to working on another aspect for Halloween, when he heard the doorbell ring. "Hang on!"

Heading back upstairs, he opened the door and blinked in surprise when he saw Rita Loud, Lily, Lana and Lucy.

"Uh… hey?" He said awkwardly.

"Hi Dawg!" Lana said in her chipper tone.

"Hello Kace." Rita smiled. "Again, thanks for being willing to watch Lily for an hour or two… I know it seems sudden, but there's some things I need to do and-" She trialed off when she saw Mad Dawg's face. "Everything alright?"

"When did I agree to this?" Mad Dawg asked, the confusion very apparent.

"Last night, I called you around nine, not long after you and Lincoln got home, and you said you had no problems with it." Rota explained, feeling somewhat nervous. "This isn't an issue, is it?"

"What? Nah, it's fine!" Mad Dawg shook his head. "Sorry, I've… I've been pushing myself like mad recently to finish some projects. I guess I didn't remember that call. But yeah, it's no problem."

"Thank you, everyone else was busy, and I need to go deal with something at the office…"

"Yeah, it's all good!" Mad Dawg nodded. "Wait. What time is it?"

"Two, I should be back by four, and-"

"How did I sleep for thirteen hours?" Mad Dawg muttered. "Whatever. C'mon in." Rita handed Lily to Mad Dawg, who seemed a little awkward as he took her, but Lily seemed happy.

"All right, I'll be back in an hour, two max." Rita nodded, still seeming nervous about leaving her kids with Mad Dawg (or Kace), but from his interactions, she saw that he was genuinely kind.

Inside, Mad Dawg sat Lily down on the couch and looked back to Lana and Lucy. The look on his face said it all, he had _no idea _what to do now.

"So… what's new?" He finally asked.

"…You've got a lot of wood lying around. Are ya building something?" Lana asked and Mad Dawg smirked.

"Yeah, getting stuff together for Halloween." He replied, walking off and leaving the three alone in the room for about ten seconds. He then returned with a few blue rolls. "I'm changing all this into a haunted maze." He noted both of the girls seemed interested by that, and Lily looked around, not having any idea what was happening. She clambered off the couch and waddled off, exploring the ten feet she could see, there wasn't much… some empty boxes, a blue box overflowing with cans, and another door that seemed to lead downstairs. As Lily walked towards it, she couldn't see what was downstairs, and now she wanted to.

"Whoa! No!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, suddenly appearing and scooping her up in his arms. "Don't go down there! That's dangerous!" He set Lily down on the couch and turned back to the other two Louds-

And any conversation they were going to have was cut off when Lily started crying.

"Uh… what do I do with this?" He asked, motioning to Lily. Neither sister said anything, both unsure what to say or do. "Is she hungry?"

"No, she ate before we came." Lucy said in her dry tone.

"Does she need changed?"

"No, she was changed earlier, and she usually doesn't cry when she needs changed, she just laughs." Lana answered.

Awkwardly picking up the baby, Mad dawg looked her over, trying to discern if there was something they were missing… from what he could see, there wasn't. _"Great…" _He mentally muttered.

The three tried to calm Lily down for the next fifteen minutes, but nothing seemed to work. Mad Dawg was getting frustrated, but also knew this was a baby, so he wasn't going to do anything about it.

"Uh…it's okay?" He asked, resting Lily against his shoulder and rubbing her back. "Things could be worse?"

"Is that really the best you have?" Lana asked.

"Sorry, what should I do?!" Mad dawg asked in annoyance. He held Lily out in front of him again and thought for a moment, finally, he shrugged. "I have nothing."

"So, what are all these plans for?" Lana asked, looking back to the blueprints, trying to ignore her sister's crying.

"Haunted house attraction." Mad Dawg explained. "Been building some robotic stuff in the basement, but I can't figure out some of the staging and bases…"

"Ooh! Can I see!?"

"Hang on, do you have a phone or something? She might calm down if you put some music on." Lucy remarked in her drawl.

"Uh, yeah… it's in the basement. C'mon." Mad Dawg said. and then, Lily stopped crying. "Wait." He muttered, then realized something. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…"

"What?"

"She's not hungry or any of that, she wanted to see the basement." Mad Dawg sighed. "Y'know, you could've told me that."

"Agpth." Lily tried to speak.

"…that's fair."

Realizing that his basement was _extremely _dangerous, considering what he was building and what tools he had, Mad Dawg thought that maybe taking a literal baby down there wasn't a good idea… But then he decided, screw it. She wasn't going to be hurt. But he knew he needed something to hold her in…

"Okay, one sec." Mad Dawg muttered, walking off. About a minute later, he returned with a few sets of safety goggles, and Lily was sitting in a makeshift baby saddle made out of a hoodie tied in an odd position. "So, if we're going down there, two rules. One, wear these at all times, and two, _don't touch anything." _He handed out the goggles then added: "It isn't because I don't trust you two, it's because the stuff I'm building can be… volatile, to be honest. Nothing will explode, hopefully, but there's a lotta sharp crap, and some things tend to… spaz out."

"I get it." Lana nodded, strapping the goggles on. "I've worked with plenty of tools! I know that a single second can be the difference between keeping and losing an eye."

"Sure, danger." Lucy nodded, putting the goggles on, and then pushing her hair back over the goggles, so it extended outwards in an odd way. The four headed down into the basement, and immediately, the smell of sautered wires, welded metal, gas, cider, and plastic seemed to float about, creating an odd… not a 'sensation', but certainly a unique feeling.

The two most notable things were the chair near a workbench, which seemed to have been made by twisting metal around itself to create the chair shape. A misshapen thing that almost looked human, aside from the large right hand with long blade-like fingers that were curved like claws. Mad Dawg noticed something and quickly covered it, before turning back to Lana and Lucy.

"So?" He asked.

"This is… weird." Lana admitted, looking around before looking back to Mad Dawg and grinning. "I love it! How'd you build all this?!"

"Junk, mainly." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I hit up hock shops and junkyards, find stuff no one wants and rip it apart. You find wires, casing, metal… all the stuff you need… then, I just start slapping stuff together and seeing what happens. "

"What exactly are you building this for?" Lucy asked again, admittedly much more interested in what the mutant was making. "And does any of it move?

"Halloween stuff, and not all of it, yet." Mad Dawg answered for the fourth time, pushing whatever it was he was hiding into a corner, before looking back to one of the skeletal things. "Issue is, I can't get the staging right upstairs… I can build these things, and they move the way I wanna. But what I need them to be on for the 'theatrics', I can't build for some reason…"

"What kinda stuff we talking about?"

"Platforms, small rails, a lotta woodwork stuff.' Mad Dawg shrugged, putting a few tools away quickly. He seemed nervous, as if he was trying to hide something. Neither girl really understood why, or cared. Looking around Mad Dawg grinned. He picked up a small scrap scorpion and smirked. "Wanna see my stuff in action? Check this out."

Taking out his phone, the scorpion came to life, scuttling across the table. The two Loud girls were taken aback by it, while Lily laughed. The scorpion kept moving, then came to an empty Phoenix Energy can, once it stopped, its tail shook and rattled, moving back before snapping down and attempting to puncture the can. However, there wasn't a point on the end of the tail, so it only pushed the can off of the table.

"I have no idea why I made it, but who cares." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I'm weird, so I guess it's just who I am."

Lucy blinked, looking up at Mad Dawg, thinking about something. However, Lana spoke up before she could.

"If you're looking for help with some wood stuff, I might be able to help."

"Oh, okay." Mad Dawg shrugged. He wasn't sure if Lana could help, but nothing ventured, right? "Not sure we're thinking of the same thing, but… If you think you'd be able to help, c'mon, there's no harm in looking at least."

The three left, Lucy staying behind for a moment and looking at the human-like mass of metal and wires. It almost looked like an animatronic, but much cruder, which was to be expected if Mad Dawg was making these himself.

"_I feel like there's so much more to him…" _Lucy thought as she quietly lifted the towel over whatever it was Mad Dawg tried to hide earlier. The third, and surprisingly, most unsettling thing they saw was some sort of long metallic cylinder with holes all around it. It wasn't a perfect cylinder, if anything, it seemed… wrong. That wasn't mentioning the four small spikes near the opening… Lucy was fascinated and creeped out by this, and she wanted to know more, she reached forward to pick it up and-

"Hey! Lucy!?" Mad Dawg called form upstairs. "Where are you?"

"Be right up!" Lucy called with a small amount of emotion. She took one more look at the odd device, and suddenly she had an idea what it might be.

Back upstairs, Lana looked up from the blueprints Mad Dawg had handed her, and then looked to the doorframe. What he wanted was… bizarre, but she figured it wouldn't be any real issue! If anything, she looked forward to it!

"Hey, uh…" Lana began awkwardly. "I have a question for you."

"Shoot." Mad Dawg said, looking back to Lily, who seemed much happier as she was playing with a small fox she had brought.

"Lola and me are getting ideas together for trick-or-treating, and we had the idea of warrior outlaw princess'."

"That. Is awesome." Mad Dawg nodded approvingly, only to see the awkward, nervous smile Lana had. "what?"

"Well…" She began but trailed off, looking down.

"Kid, just tell me." Mad Dawg said flatly.

"…promise you won't get mad?"

"…why would I get mad?"

"Okay, uh, Lola had the idea… after seeing that cool video, that we needed some sort of, uh… animal, that we went around town with."

Mad Dawg looked down at her and blinked, not picking up on what she was getting at.

"We thought about taking our cat, but then we saw the cool werewolf costume you had… or that might be you… we were wondering… uh…"

"Wondering what?" Mad Dawg asked.

"…you promised you won't get mad. Okay?" Lana asked, and Dawg nodded. "We wanted to ask if you'd put on that costume-thing and hang out with us on Halloween evening."

**A.N. This could end very badly… or this could be something that Mad Dawg doesn't realize he needs. Either way, this is gonna be a Halloween Royal Woods'll **_**never **_**forget!**


	13. Night Of The Beast Part 3

When Rita Loud returned an hour later, she wasn't completely sure what to expect. She didn't believe Dawg would do anything to hurt her children, but he was somewhat unpredictable, but still had good intentions. As she returned to his home, she entered through the open door, and almost immediately overheard a conversation.

"…cut him in half?" Lucy asked, making Rita freeze.

"…yeah…grab a chainsaw and just start cutting." Mad Dawg's voice followed after that. "Sometimes it's hard to do what you need to do, but it's worth it in the end."

"I still don't see why you can't just hang him with rope like the rest…" Lana's voice now piped up. "You had no problem with that before, so what's the issue here?"

"Eh, too big." Mad Dawg shrugged. "It's always a real struggle to get them up there, but it's satisfying to hear them scream when you drop 'em!"

"You seem to be getting a lot of enjoyment out of this."

"And? What's wrong with that?"

Now entering the kitchen Rita blinked in confusion when she saw her daughters and Mad Dawg standin around a table with multiple blueprints spread around. She couldn't quite tell what they were for, but somethings made a little more sense.

"If we're gonna have them swing this way, we'd need to clear the closet out then." Mad Dawg remarked, making note of something on the paper. "And even if it _does _work, how do we get them back up? If I need to run back down and pull the mannequins up every time someone comes through, that's gonna get real tiring, fast."

"…well…" Lana began. "If we got three or four pulley boxes here, here, and here, we might be able to rig them up so every time this door is opened they pull it back up, and it'd be pretty easy to set up a tripwire here."

"Easy, but that could also get someone hurt." Lucy admitted. "Half the fun is knowing the danger isn't real. Speaking of which, how much of this were you planning on using actual blades or fire for?"

"Well, I was thinking here, and here we could use an actual blade, since no one will go near there, it'd be easy to make it look like something was throwing them, or just get someone to throw them."

"No, I'm gonna have to stop you there." Lucy shook her head. "I'll be honest, actual blades and pyrotechnical effects would be cool and scary, but no offence here, I don't think anyone would trust you if you were to run around with an actual blade in a costume."

"That… is fair." Mad Dawg sighed, scratching something out. "So, if they enter here, that means I could enter from here, and I'm probably still doing some of this stuff. If I get hurt, big deal."

"You all seem to be having fun." Rita remarked, getting their attention.

"Hi, mom!" Lana said with a cheery wave.

"Hey." Mad Dawg waved, then paused. "Uh, not sure what you just heard out of context there, but we're talking about plans for a haunted house attraction."

"I picked up on that, but thank you for reassuring me." She laughed slightly. "You seem to have a lot of knowledge on this topic."

"Well, animatronics are used in horror stuff, and I build machines." Mad Dawg shrugged, tapping his phone, and the robotic scorpion skittered by, surprising Rita. "I dunno, it's something to do. Lucy said she had some ideas for a maze of some sort, so we were seeing if our plans could work in some way."

"And?"

"We're working on it." Mad Dawg shrugged, taking Lily out of the baby-saddle he had made and handed her back to Rita.

"I take it there were no problems?"

"Nah, you were gone an hour. I can do a lot in that time, but nothing too insane."

"He's got these wicked things in his basement! They look like skeletons… but they're not, and I don't know how to explain it!" Lana said excitedly.

"Stuff for Halloween."

"Well, that sounds interesting." She remarked. "You'll have to show me some time."

"Yeah sure, whenever works." Mad Dawg shrugged again. "Also, Lucy, did you any ideas for what to do in the latter half of the event?"

"That part is up to your discretion. As much as I think that is a bad idea." Lucy stated. Mad Dawg assumed that was both her making 'a joke' and being 'happy'. So, he flashed a smirk in response and nodded.

"Send me some of the stuff you listen to, I'll do the rest." He instructed. Lucy nodded and remembered she was still wearing the glasses Dawg had given her, so she took them off and tossed them to the table.

"Hey, Mad Dawg? Can you think about what I asked?" Lana piped up again, and Mad Dawg bit his lip.

"Kid, I don't-"

"Please?" Lana said her eyes widening in hopeful excitement. It was something that Mad Dawg could easily say 'no' to, but he also thought about everything that had been happening recently.

"Fine." Mad Dawg finally nodded. "I'll think about it, but I'm promising _nothing." _

"Yaay!"

Once he was alone again, Mad Dawg sighed, looking at his arms, seeing the marks along them. Was this a good idea? Sure, he had more control, that couldn't be denied, but what would happen if he tried to casually walk around as his other side in the middle of a town? What if that caused something to break and he went insane?

"_But what if that doesn't happen?" _He asked himself. _"What if you truly are better?" _

"_aNd iF YOu'Re nOT?" _

"What. Do. You. _WANT!?_" Mad Dawg seethed, feeling genuinely anxious now, and almost afraid of what Virus would say. All he got in response was the insane mechanical laughter echoing throughout his house. Then… nothing.

Mad Dawg sighed, rubbing his face ad flopping down on his couch. He needed to sleep some more, he'd deal with everything else later…

_Two Days Later… _

Mad Dawg was mindlessly driving around on his ATV, looking for something to do. He was supposed to meet with Lana and Lucy when they were done school so they could work some more on the plans that had been forming, but until then… Dawg had no idea.

"Aaaaggghhhhhhhhh… Sooooooo _boreeeeddddddd…"_ He groaned, pulling donuts in an empty parking lot across from the middle school. "Wait. Rusty?"

Looking out to the fence near the school, Mad Dawg clearly saw Rusty being talked to by two figures, and it was clear they weren't friends of his. Stopping his ride, Mad Dawg watched for a second, Rusty flinched as one of them made a jerking movement with a fist.

"Pick on someone your own size asshole." Mad Dawg scowled, revving the engine and cutting across the road and parking in a corner. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice, and as he approached Rusty, he was able to pick up on the conversation.

"-it over Spokes!"

"-me alone…"

"Now Rusty! We ain't gonna ask again!"

"Leave… me… alone." Rusty said, trying to seem confident, despite the fear he was feeling.

"Hey, you have what we want, now hand it over or else you're gonna-"

"Hey Rusty, what's up?" Mad Dawg remarked, casually walking up to the three. The two teens he assumed were Hawk and whatever the other one's name was both turned and looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, hey Mad Dawg." Rusty replied, seemingly a bit more relieved. The silence returned, and finally Mad Dawg decided to speak once more.

"So… what are you two up to?" Mad Dawg casually asked, leaning against the chain-link fence. The two teens seemed taken aback, and uncertain of how to respond, and Mad Dawg noted they seemed to be a year younger than him at most. Good…

"The outcast owes us money, and he isn't payin'." Hawk snarled. Mad Dawg seemed to think it over, then nodded.

"Okay, what's the money for?" He asked, still acting as casual as possible. The bullies blinked, and looked to one another, clearly not knowing how to answer.

"Uh… things."

"Ah, right. They're charging a lot for things tax these days." Mad Dawg mused, thinking it over. "That's why I invested in stuff stock, there's usually a higher pay out for it. Don't feel bad if you didn't know about it, I'm surprised you two know how to breathe properly."

"Listen here bone-rack." The other one ordered. "We ain't met you before, so we'll let you go with a warnin' but you _don't _want to get on our bad side, it won't end well for you."

"_**And if you piss me off, it'll end in tragedy for you." **_

Everyone recoiled in shock as somehow, a voice that sounded almost demonic spoke up from… somewhere, except Mad Dawg hadn't been speaking, just chilling against the fence.

"Okay wise guy. I don't know who you are, or what your deal is, but I can give you three good reasons to walk away right now-"

"And I can give you twenty." Mad Dawg cut in. "Want me to prove it?"

"…yeah, if you think you're so smart."

"Okay. Here's five."

_WHAM! _

Hawk stumbled, wheezing and winded back after being punched in the gut. Not only was it lightning fast, it was clear it hit with a lot more force than anyone expected.

"Here's ten."

_THUNK!_

Mad Dawg wheeled back and stomped on Hawk's foot, making him shout in pain and anger, jumping back.

"I've got ten more. Wanna hear them?"

"I don't know who you are! But you're DEAD! Ya hear me!? DEAD!"

"I already am." Mad Dawg shrugged as Hawk and the other one took off, Hawk seething slightly as Dawg's jab still seemed to be hurting a bit.

"Dawg… that was really stupid." Rusty said, seeming more nervous than anything.

"Oh, you're welcome." Mad Dawg said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he looked down to Rusty.

"I'm serious man! They're not gonna forget this!" Rusty insisted. "They're gonna want revenge, and they'll hurt you!"

"Rust-Eze, chill." Mad Dawg said flatly. "I can take care of myself, don't worry about me. If they give you any more trouble, let me know."

"Right. Thanks…" Rusty nodded as the bell rang. "School's done! Yes!"

"Cool. If we're done here, I'm meeting with some of the Louds in an few hours for some stuff." Mad Dawg remarked, looking back to his ATV. "You'll be good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rusty smiled. "And Mad Dawg?"

"Sup?"

"Thank you." Rusty said with a genuine smile. Mad Dawg gave him a 'see ya' salute and headed back to his ride.

"_So, I just did the thing Lincoln asked me not to do." _He thought as he drove home. _"Whoops." _

When he got home, Mad Dawg pulled his sweat-soaked shirt off and headed for the kitchen, grabbing a can of Critical Rolling Rock and snapped the cap off. He sighed in relaxation and took a long drink.

"Hi Mad Dawg!"

Blinking in shock, Mad Dawg saw Lana and Lucy standing in the kitchen, as well as Lori, who _did not _seem amused.

"pfftohcrap!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, choking and spitting his drink out at the same time before throwing the beer back into the fridge and slamming the door. He dropped down and grabbed a shirt he hadn't gotten around to putting away and fumbled as he pulled it on, then jumped back up. "Hey."

"You okay, Dawgy?" Lana asked, not sure what just happened.

"Yeah, I'm good. I thought you guys were coming in an hour or so." He nodded, his eyes darting around, noticing Lori clearly wasn't happy with him. Oh well. "I got your playlist, I think the fourth song is the best one for this plan." He said, addressing Lucy who gave the faintest of smiles.

"A song of fear about the inevitability of death and nightmares, a good choice." She nodded.

"And I take it you got the ideas I had?" He asked, looking to Lana, who beamed.

"Yup! I think it's pretty simple stuff!" She beamed.

"Awesome! Let's get to work!" Mad Dawg declared heading towards the basement workshop with the sisters, but he was stopped by Lori who grabbed his arm, and then gave him a death glare. Mad Dawg raised a brow and then scoffed as he pulled away, shrugging as he walked off, grabbing a large knife as he did so, throwing it up in the air and catching it.

Lori… was not happy. She had offered to come with Lana and Lucy because she wanted to try and find common ground with Mad Dawg. But then she walked in on him drinking alcohol, shirtless. Why was this so hard?! Why did every time she was in the same room as Kace, or whatever his name was, he made things so _frustratingly _hard to be civil!

"_Still, he hasn't hurt anyone. Don't accuse him of things he hasn't done." _Lori reminded herself as she sighed. Deciding to keep an eye on her sisters, and headed down to the basement as well, taking a pair of goggles hanging below a sign which read 'If you don't wear these and get hurt, legally that's on you.' She blinked, then couldn't help but laugh slightly.

Mad Dawg was currently connecting what looked like a motherboard to a computer, and tapped on something, letting the computer go to work. Without warning, Lucy was right behind him, making him jump in shock.

"How-?!"

"Don't question it. It's just what she does." Lana remarked as if this was something she had seen a million times.

"So, that's how that feels…" Mad Dawg muttered. "Okay. So, to clarify, they come in here, right?" He asked, pointing to something.

"Yes." Lucy nodded.

"That means they'll pass here, here, and here. Right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So, if I'm here, I can run through the kitchen to get back here."

"Yes."

"And Lana, that means we need staging at the doorways. Is that gonna be an issue?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Nope! I could have them done by next week!"

"Hey, what exactly are you guys up to?" Lori asked, breaking into the conversation.

"Dawg happens to enjoy the sensation of near-death experiences, and aggravating one's emotions into terror and fear." Lucy answered. "He offered to help create an extension to the haunted corn maze, one which should terrify anyone who comes through."

"Huh. And… what's with all the scrap metal?" She asked looking around. Lori knew Mad Dawg made scrap sculptures which could breathe fire (which she had to admit was pretty cool) but these seemed much bigger.

"In the old days, a mask and a plastic knife was all you needed." Mad Dawg said with a grin. "Nowadays, I think if you wanna be scary, you gotta go _ALL IN!" _

Without warning he punched a button and a mechanical mass of twisted metal and wire lurched forward, it's left eye lit up and its bear-trap-like mouth unhinged itself. Lori screamed and jumped backwards, backing into the workbench.

"Kace! What the-" she began flustered, but caught herself and shook her head. "Wow. Okay, that's good."

"Yeah, probably should've warned ya but… I didn't want to." Mad Dawg smirked, laughing.

"So, you're building robots? That's your Halloween plan?" Lori asked.

"Yup! And giving them THESE!" He declared, suddenly pulling a pair of blades form his boots, tossing them in the air and balancing them on a finger each. When he saw their shocked reactions, he laughed: "Relax! They ain't real!"

To prove his point, Mad Dawg threw one of the blades at a wall, expecting it to bounce off due to its plastic structure, only for it to dig into the wall, as it was very real. Mad Dawg caught the second knife, and realized what had just happened, and nervously but the other knife down.

"Uh… heh." He muttered. "Oof."

Lucy took over by taking out a number of sheets she had and put them on the table, getting their attention.

"I don't know if you were interested in it, but I had an idea for some scripted dialogue." She remarked as Dawg picked it up and looked over them, nodding to himself.

"Okay, interesting…" He mused as Lori looked around, coming to a stop when she saw a garbage can full of… needles…

"…_what?" _She blinked, not sure how to react or what to make of this. They were dirty and broken, they seemed too old to have been used recently… so did that mean Dawg had gotten clean? No, that wasn't it. He hadn't used at all since they met, if he was, there'd be something pretty noticeable. But why did he have these?! And- wait a second. Last night when Lincoln had gotten home with him, she had found a needle near the mailbox when she went to get the mail after everyone had forgot to… so Mad Dawg _had _been the one who left the needle behind. But why!? And what was he doing with Lincoln?! _"Calm down, you're jumping into the worst-case scenario."_

Mad Dawg scratched the underside of his left arm as he looked around for something, walking off then coming back with a chainsaw without the chain. Lucy shook her head and Dawg seemed to deflate.

"Aww…" He muttered, putting the chainsaw away.

Lori sat down and leaned against the workbench, noticing a picture of Mad Dawg with a dreadlocked man who seemed to be a Dj, and a woman with a pink headset. He seemed so happy in the picture, and then it occurred to Lori who these people were. There was also a map of the USA, with Michigan and Chicago circled, with a red line going between them. There was more written, but Lori didn't pay much attention to it.

"All right! Let's do this!" Mad Dawg declared, grabbing some tools and heading back upstairs, the Louds following after him with Lori staying behind for a few moments. She looked back at the garbage can, seeing the used needles and what she now realized were bullet casings… Her eyes widened slightly and she felt a nervous wave hit her. She had some questions Mad Dawg needed to answer.

Upstairs, Mad Dawg was lining up some wiring, noting how much would be needed for the upcoming plans, and affixing it to a pulley system.

"If I'm honest, it's nice finding someone else who enjoys scaring people." Mad Dawg remarked as Lucy looked up to him. "Back home my friends loved Halloween, but I was always left wanting to do something like this. It's great to meet someone who _wants _to!"

"In all honesty, you surprise me." Lucy shrugged. "You seem to have a personality more akin to Luna and Lincoln fused into one. I didn't take you for someone who enjoyed the macabre and dark reality of the world we live in."

"Eh, I do and don't." Mad Dawg replied. "I don't see the world as all doom and gloom and crap like that. I used to, but I didn't like living in that mindset. I wasn't happy and…" He trailed off, seeing Lucy seeming off. "You good?"

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine." She said in her usual drawl. Mad Dawg tied off a wire and jumped form the second floor down to the first.

"No, you're not. What's wrong?" Dawg said matter-of-factly.

"It's nothing." Lucy persisted.

"Okay then." The mutant shrugged returning to his work. Lucy was taken aback by his sudden indifference, but shrugged it off. Mad dawg was removing a door when a hand grabbed him.

"Hey, you mind telling me why there's bullet casings in the basement?" Lori suddenly asked.

"Uh… I've got the remains a Serbu BFG-50." Mad Dawg awkwardly answered. "Okay, I know that seems bad, but it doesn't _work._ The shell casings are from back home when I was being shot at, I found them as I was cleaning out my bag."

"You're telling me that you've been drinking while you have access to an anti-tank rifle around my sisters!?" Lori snapped. 

"Whoa, NO." Mad Dawg said defensively, taking a step back. "First of all, the BFG-50 isn't an Anti-Tank Rifle, if it was, I most likely would've had to have gone to much darker black markets to get one. Second, the gun didn't WORK when I bought it. Third, I only have _parts _of it for a contraption I was building!"

"What can you build that requires rifle parts?!"

"A waffle maker." Mad dawg plainly answered. "That might also be a Blu-ray player."

"Why did you have the bullets?!"

"Because I had a BFG-50 that worked. I was using it to deal with the squirrels in my backyard." Mad Dawg answered.

"I…" Lori began but trailed off. "Where is it?"

"The squirrels?"

"The gun!"

"I sold it." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I've never been a rifle fan, Ms. Amari was _way _better than anyone I knew, aside from Amelie that French bit-"

"Mad Dawg."

"That's me."

"FOCUS." Lori snapped again, growing more and more frustrated. "_WHY _did you have a BF…whatever it was in the first place?"

"Why do I have to justify myself to you?" Mad Dawg retorted, crossing his arms. "You're not my mom."

"Because I want to know if you're going to get my family hurt because of your stupid plans!" Lori stated, and Mad Dawg's face snapped through shock, anger, and finally understanding.

"Ah. Fair." He nodded. "Like I said, I got it because I needed to get rid of some squirrels." He explained. "After that, I had no use for it, so I turned it in to the cops, they pointed me towards Romero's Rifles, I sold it to him, I used the cash to buy some records."

"So, it's gone?"

"Yes. I don't see why you have such an issue with guns." Mad Dawg muttered.

"I don't have an issue with guns, I have an issue with _you._"

"Same." Mad Dawg muttered as he pushed past Lori, gritting some nails and beginning to drill something together with Lana's help, leaving Lori standing there in silence, frowning at the mutant, but unsure of what to do. "Oh, by the way Lana, I'm gonna be gone for two or three days after tonight, can you pass on a message to Lincoln for me? I need you to tell him…"

Several hours later, the Louds had left and Mad Dawg was alone once more. He snaked his way about his home, avoiding the staging that had been set up thus far. There was still three weeks or so until Halloween, so there was time to perfect everything, but that wasn't his focus right now… making sure he was alone, he reached pushed his fridge away and found a small hole in the wall originally designed for plumbing, but never was used for that. He pulled out a long case and sighed, knowing that he was gonna do this right, no one was gonna get killed. He attached the case to his ATV and then went back into his house, putting on a black hoodie, black track pants and a graffiti-coloured gas mask. Getting onto his ATV, he drove off, out of Royal Woods, and off into the night…

It was a long drive, much longer than Mad Dawg would've liked it to be, but he didn't want to be seen, so he knew this was the best way to get around. He left Michigan and kept going… and going… and going… He stopped for three hours in Grand Rapids (wherever that was) to sleep, but then was back on the road once more. Another hour later, Mad Dawg saw step two on his journey. Stashing his ATV where hopefully no one would find it, Mad Dawg crouched in the bushes, listening for the familiar rumbling and shaking of the ground. It took about twenty minutes, but eventually a train arrived, and Mad Dawg jumped onto a flatbed, and stowed away under the bed.

Several hours later in Royal Woods, Michigan, Lisa Loud was going over some calculations she had been running with the sample of Mad Dawg's blood. It was truly something she hadn't expected to be real, or even possible. But the mutant was right, his cells seemed to have a super-charged growth cycle designed to reproduce damaged skin or muscle at super-human speeds. She had so many new questions, and with the sample she had, there was a chance that some of them would be answered. To the young Loud girl, this was unprecedented. If she could figure out how this worked, this could quite literally tear the book on genetics apart, and write a whole new magnum opus leading to immortality!

But Mad Dawg was also right; while not harmful on contact, the toxicity of his blood couldn't be overstated. How the mutant was still _alive _was beyond her understanding, but that was just another question for the pile.

"Hey, Lisa?" A voice came, getting her attention. "Phone's for you."

Slightly disappointed she was taken from her work, Lisa took the phone and set down the notes she was writing. "Hello?"

"Yo, Lisa?"

"Mad Dawg?" She asked.

"Ah, great. Hey." Mad Dawg replied with a slight sigh. "Hope I didn't catch you in the middle of something."

"No, not at all… if anything, I was considering contacting you." She admitted, looking to her notes. "I don't know if you can tell me, but do you know how you've become immune to the toxicity of your blood?"

"Uh, exposure over long period I guess." Mad Dawg answered. "Look Little-Loud, I don't have a lotta time. How's the doorway coming?"

Lisa blinked, taken aback by the nickname Dawg seemingly assigned her, then looked over to the framework she had constructed. "So far, it's coming along fine." She began. "I believe I may have found a formula which would essentially warp you to your last location, and should that work, it would only be a matter of amplifying the power enough to send you home. The issue is, I need a power source with enough strength to do so."

"And apparently they exist, but they aren't available at a store." Mad Dawg replied, having had this conversation before.

"Indeed, and they're being tested at the Chicago Research Institute." Lisa concluded. "Where are you anyways?"

"Uh…" The answer was cut off by a loud train horn blaring, silencing everything Dawg tried to say. "Detroit!"

"Hm. All right then." Lisa muttered. "I believe we may be able to construct an energy source sufficient to what we need, but in order to do so, I'd at least need to see some sort of blue print for the actual thing…or better yet a prototype of one of the cells. Unfortunately, I don't have any contacts in the institution, if I did, perhaps we could make some sort of deal in order to acquire-"

"Cool. My stop's here, gotta go bye!"

Beep.

"…rude." She muttered before turning back to her work.

Across the states, Mad Dawg sighed as he cracked his back as he snuck out from under the train and ran off into one of Chicago's Train Yards. That night, Mad Dawg crawled up to a hill on the edge of the city border, and looked with some binoculars at a large, clean white building.

"_The Chicago Research Institution…" _Mad Dawg thought. Through his binoculars, he could see people walking around the building, talking to one another or on their way to their labs. He scanned around before seeing one set of windows with a pulsing light faintly visible from a distance. _"Jackpot." _

Opening his case, Mad Dawg looked over his equipment, then set to assembling his modified BFG-50 rifle. Dawg loaded one of his custom-bullets into the gun and aimed towards the window.

_Tink!_

Knowing that his window was brief, Mad Dawg took off towards the lab in a mad sprint.

Four hours later, Mad Dawg was on the train once more, grinning like an idiot, and holding one of the power cells close to his chest.

"_Time to go home…" _

**A.N. So… Mad Dawg seems to be burning as many bridges as he's building. Will he be able to put out the fires before he ends up on a bridge over troubled water? Will he get home? Do I really need to keep writing these author notes at the end of each chapter like it's an episode of Dragon Ball? **

**Who knows, possibly, and not really. **

**Either way, a lot of things are gonna come to a head next time. Both good and bad! This story has only three or four more chapters, so what's gonna happen next!? **

**I should probably figure that out…**


	14. Night Of The Beast Part 4

"Okay, you were right. This view_ was _worth the walk."

"Heh."

"I'm actually pretty surprised I haven't been here before…"

"Yeah."

"I mean, I've been doing this for so long, and yet you find this place!? Weird…"

"Totally."

"There's the school, I think that's the mall… Hey, is that our house?!"

"Uh, yes. It is."

"There's mine…"

"Oh yeah! Man, we're closer than I thought."

"Huh, so we are."

Bobby, Leni and Mad Dawg had spent the past twenty minutes trekking through some low-hanging branches and climbing upwards on a gradually increasing slope to arrive at a place Bobby had supposedly found a few weeks ago. From where they sat, they could see most of Royal Woods, the town being bathed in the reddish-pink light of the setting sun. From the position of the cliff face they sat near the edge of, they could see the sun retreating into the night sky across town. Said sun was now more of an orange ball of light compared to the yellowish white one.

"Hey, Mad Dawg? How ya feeling?" Leni asked, looking over to Mad Dawg, who was in his alternate form. The mutant looked to her, then nodded.

"Feelin' good." He said without a pause this time. In their subsequent 'sessions' as one might call them, Mad Dawg had been getting better at talking while in his beast form. He couldn't have full conversations, but he could talk a few sentences without pausing every time. It was a slow process, but it was definitely something to consider good.

"I know the whole urban exploring thing is what you do for fun, but I wanted to be the one who showed you something new for once." Bobby smirked, noting that Mad Dawg seemed transfixed on the view of the town.

"It's beautiful." Mad Dawg simply said. Sure, it might have made more sense to be human during this, but right now… he felt good. He felt like he was in control.

"Hey, how was Detroit?" Leni asked, remembering Mad Dawg had been gone for a few days. "I've heard a lot about it, but haven't been there, was the food any good?"

"Oh yeah. The pizza was great." Mad Dawg nodded. "And there was a lot of life in the city, something…. Always happening." Okay, so that was a lie, as he had been in Chicago, but… Chicago-style pizza. Which he had gotten before his incredibly stupid plan went into action. "Did a lot of running, big buildings… felt weird."

"I swear Dawg, you're gonna get yourself killed if you keep doing that." Bobby remarked, having seen some of what Dawg did in Royal Woods, and not sure how he could convince himself that doing it off of a forty-story skyscraper was a good idea… but then again, Bobby fully understood that first part of Mad Dawg's name.

"So… I know you've mentioned that you and Lisa are working on something to get you home…" Leni began, as if trying to dance around a question that she knew she had to ask. Mad Dawg looked over to her in confusion, not totally sure where she was going with this. "But did you ever think that maybe… you don't _have _to go? Like, only if you don't want to…"

It was somewhat interesting to see how Mad Dawg reacted. While a human's shoulders might have drooped if they felt awkward or somewhat sad, but Mad Dawg's whole body seemed to shift. His chest rose and fell, and his defined shoulders seemed to arch somewhat as Mad Dawg lay down on the ground, resting his head on his arms as he looked out over the view.

"Yeah…" He muttered. "I wanna go home… but I don't wanna leave."

"Oh, I…I'm sorry." Leni muttered, looking down at Mad Dawg and feeling rather awkward upon seeing his body language.

"Not your fault."

Mad Dawg was delving into his thoughts, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do now… Yes, more than anything, he wanted to go home. He wanted to be with his friends, with his family! But he had lied to Lisa when he promised that he'd come back… he didn't know if that was possible.

"_AnD iF yOU gO bAcK, wHAt THeN?" _The obnoxious voice of Virus asked the question he had been asking himself ever since he got here. Except this time, it didn't sound hateful, it almost sounded… concerned. "gO hOMe? MaKE aMEndS? ThEN wHAt? AsK fOr FOrGiVneSs fRoM THoSe YOu huRT? DoN'T yOu reMEmBeR wHaT HApPEneD lAsT tImE?"

"_I don't deserve forgiveness… but you all deserve the truth. I never meant to hurt anyone! I know you want to see justice done, but if you do this, you'll be suffering from the same damn guilt that's been tearing me apart for the past decade!"_

But there was more to that story…

He didn't like thinking about that day, but there was something he clung to, something that gave him the smallest amount of hope.

"_There's a chance that asshole rigged the whole thing." _Sombra had remarked as they sat near the water. _"I doubt those families would want to kill a kid, so Virus probably fixed it so they couldn't turn off their screens…" _

"_You think so?" _

"_Kinda."_

While he will most likely never find out (Virus' place was trashed after he left, and good riddance) Mad Dawg liked to believe that was the case. Not to ease his guilt or convince himself that he was innocent (which… okay, he kinda was) but rather because maybe that meant he COULD make amends in one way or another. Maybe someday he could finally put this at rest…

"_Jax __loved__ you like his own. Me? I don't know what you are... Aside from a monster." _

Dang it…

Mad Dawg was snapped from his thoughts and semi-self-loathing when he felt someone scratching his ear. He slowly looked over to Leni, who had a wide (and somewhat embarrassed) grin on her face.

"Sorry… always wanted to see what would happen if I did this…" She admitted, laughing slightly as Mad Dawg's leg unconsciously kicked. "And your fur is so soft and fluffy!" Her response was a low laugh-growl from Mad Dawg, who despite feeling embarrassed, made no move to stop her.

"…ya know if Sam and Luna… together again?" Mad Dawg asked, pausing for a moment to connected the words.

"I don't know." Leni frowned. "Apparently there was some stuff happening between them and they weren't sure if the band was all they had in common." Leni recoiled in surprise when Mad Dawg genuinely growled, his teeth baring slightly.

"Calm down Dawg." Bobby said, looking to Mad Dawg and meeting his agitated glare.

"Rrgh… they're great together. I feel like it's my fault…" Mad Dawg growled.

"Awww! That's so sweet!" Leni cooed, patting his head. Mad Dawg bristled slightly in surprise. "Luna mentioned that it was clear you really liked them, and I can see why."

"…what?"

"Uh, oh wait. That didn't come out right…" Leni muttered. "Look, Sam doesn't blame you for this, she kinda blames herself…"

"I need to fix this…" Mad Dawg groaned, rising and cracking his back.

"Whoa, clam down there, big fella." Bobby said, getting up to try and stop Mad Dawg from doing something extremely stupid. He hadn't succeeded every time thus far, but he still had to try. "Look, I get you might feel differently about this, but you can't just run into town looking like this."

"Is it because I'm naked?"

"No, it- wait. What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Listen Dawg, I'm pretty sure Luna would appreciate the effort on your part, but there really isn't anything you can do right now." Bobby continued. "She and Sam are working this out themselves, I think this is something you've gotta take a backseat on."

Mad Dawg looked down at him, his heavy breathing clearly audible, then finally relented, lying back down and looking out over the town which was being painted by the sunset. Bobby made a good point, this wasn't his problem, so why should he care? Sure, Luna and Sam were his friends, but this wasn't a case where the solution was more guns and explosives. As borderline sacrilegious at it sounded, that probably would make things _worse. _So, for now, there was only one thing to do…

Nothing.

The sunset turned to night, and night would turn to day. It was the same routine everyone lived through every day of their life. When he woke up again, Mad Dawg walked outside and took a moment to enjoy the cool fall colours. Partially due to where he lived, he didn't always get to see trees shifting their colours, so when he did, he made sure to stop and enjoy it.

"_Ya gotta love expository dumps used to Segway into the next plot point…" _

You shut up.

"_No." _

Two days had passed since his trip to Detroit/Chicago, and Mad Dawg finally decided to give Lisa the energy core he had 'acquired'. Calling the Louds and telling her he had some supplies for her, Mad Dawg realized as he was walking over that he might need to think of a cover story to avoid talking about what actually happened…

"Hey Dawg. Lisa's upstairs." Lincoln called. Mad dawg nodded and headed to the lab where Lisa resided most of the time. Knocking on the door, the youngest Loud turned to see who was there.

"Mad Dawg." Lisa nodded.

"Sup Lil' Loud." Mad Dawg smirked, looking over at the frame of a doorway. "This the thing that'll send me home?"

"Hopefully, yes." Lisa nodded again. "As I said, there is a very strong potential that it could simply rip your molecules apart and spread them all across our plane of reality, there is no guarantee that the device will be able to lock onto your genetic code and locate its origin, and we lack a sufficient energy output in order to activate it-"

Any further warnings or musings died in her throat as Mad Dawg pulled a metallic regular icosahedron-shaped device and set it on her table. Her eyes threatened to break through her glasses as she looked from the device to Mad Dawg and back again with genuine shock beyond all words. This… this was what she was looking for!

"How…" She muttered.

"That it, right? One of those new-age power cell thingies? Will that work to power this thing?" Mad Dawg asked three questions, nodding to the cell.

"How did you get this?"

"Will this work to get the doorway powered up?" Mad Dawg avoided the question. Lisa blinked, then her eyes widened again, but this time it wasn't in surprise or amazement, but in absolute terror.

"Mad Dawg… did you kill someone!?"

"What?! NO!" Mad Dawg exclaimed offended by the accusation. "No one's _dead_."

"Then how did you get this?!"

"Okay… but you can't get mad." Mad Dawg finally said seemingly willing to tell the story of how he got the cell.

"What. Did. You. Do?"

"So, I was in Detroit-" Mad Dawg began.

"No, you weren't." Lisa cut him off, seeing right through his lie as she looked over the cell. "You literally wrote 'Detroit' over 'Chicago' with a marker. What did you do!?"

"Okay, fine… I _might _have broken into their lab and activated their security systems with a sniper rifle to make them believe they were under attack, only to shut off their security systems and then play it all off like this was an unannounced test… and they believed me."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them I worked for security as a Grey Hat Hacker and thief, and that the company had hired me to test their systems to see how weak or strong their security systems were… then I got caught by the head of the energy core project, so I had to talk my way out of that… it didn't work out too well and I got shot." Mad Dawg continued with his explanation, pulling his shirt up and revealing a new wound. "So… they saw me survive and heal. Naturally, they wanted to know what was happening, so I cut them a deal: some of my blood in exchange one of the cores."

"And they accepted that!?" Lisa asked bewildered, knowing that a Scientific Institute like the C.S.I. would _never _agree to a deal like that, as it would be a very real fear of a terrorist attack being caused because of it.

"No. They didn't." Mad Dawg admitted awkwardly, and the look on Lisa's face told him he needed to explain. "They wanted some of my blood, but also could tell I wasn't going to just hand it over, so… we made a bet. Me and the head of the cell stuff would play Go Fish, best of five. If I won, they'd accept my deal. If I lost, I'd give them some of my blood and disappear, and they'd act like nothing happened."

"So, I take it you won?" Lisa asked, sighing slightly in relief as she now knew that no one (except Dawg) had been hurt, and more importantly, no one was dead or would come breaking into her families' home because of this.

"No, I lost." Mad Dawg shook his head. "So, I gave them some of my blood, in exchange for a broken cell."

"What good will that do us?"

"I fixed it." Mad Dawg shrugged, turning a dial on the side, and a soft hum echoed. Lisa stared in disbelief at what she held, and Mad Dawg smirked. "There's an issue though, I think we'll have one shot at this… I had to re-do a lot of the interior wiring of the cell, and it needs to charge for a _long _time, so I'd recommend a generator or something…"

"Mad Dawg, I want you to look me in the eyes and answer me." Lisa ordered, knowing there was a question she had to ask again… despite being afraid too. "Did you kill someone?"

"Lisa. On my own grave which I'm assuming exists back in my world, no one got killed." Mad Dawg said with utter sincerity. "I got into a fight with some security guards at one point, and. Punched a doctor when she startled me, but that's it."

"Very… very well then." Lisa nodded. "I guess no one got hurt, and you didn't steal it outright…"

"And besides, if this works, you'll have something to offer them." Mad Dawg added. "A doorway to another dimension? If they're upset about this, I'm pretty sure being the first major institution to have that tech would smooth things over."

"True." Lisa conceded. She didn't like everything that Dawg had been doing in order to get this, but at the same time, no one was dead or seriously injured. She could live with this. "All right. I still need time to assemble everything, but there is a chance this could work."

The shine in Mad Dawg's eyes said it all. "Thanks!" He grinned as he got up. "Hey, you know where your parents are? I need to ask them something."

"Downstairs most likely." Lisa remarked, looking back to the energy cell.

"Okay, I'll be back in a minu-Aw, damn it…" He cursed audibly as he sighed.

"We need to talk. **NOW.**" Lori ordered having been standing just outside Lisa's door. The eldest Loud turned, storming off with Mad Dawg following behind her, cracking an energy drink as he went.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Lori snapped, rounding on Mad Dawg who seemed completely disinterested.

"Do you have all day?"

"If I need so, yes!"

"Okay, I'm from another dimension from which I was created as a living weapon programmed to do horrible things, but who escaped, was shown compassion and has strived to find a balance between things that I do and things I was meant to-"

"Stop." Lori growled, rubbing her temples. "You just admitted you broke into the Chicago Science Institution with a _GUN_. What excuse do you have for that?!"

"I was getting their attention while pointing out critical flaws in their security." Mad Dawg shrugged.

"Do you not hear yourself!? You told me the other week you didn't have guns anymore!"

"Okay, I lied once." Mad Dawg said flatly. "Like I said, NO ONE GOT HURT. The bullets were designed to be paint bullets. I gutted the gunpowder and sharpened casing from them to make sure they wouldn't hurt anyone irreparably." Okay, so that was another lie, as not all the bullets were converted, but… whatever. "This doesn't affect any of you! I know it's wrong, but I don't really care! This is the kinda stuff I do all the time!"

"Ever since you got here, things have been so much more difficult…" Lori groaned, ignoring everyone else who could see/hear their conversation. "Why… why can't you just leave us be?!"

"Because I have friends? Not sure if you do…" Mad Dawg replied, muttering the second part into his drink as Lori glared daggers at him, he ignored it and looked over to the others, giving a 'it's a living' shrug.

"I am so tired of this! You always act like you've done nothing wrong and that it's everyone else who's at fault for your mistakes!" Lori yelled. Mad Dawg narrowed his eyes as he looked to her in confusion. "You literally just admitted to what could be considered a terrorist attack and yet your acting like nothing's wrong!"

"Seriously? This is what this is turning into?" He asked. "Look Loud, I get you don't like me. I don't blame you. But I'm someone stuck trying to make two separate lives work and I'm sorry if you can't see past your own anxiety and paranoia to see that!"

"Can you stop being so cryptically self-loathing and just speak clearly for once!?" Lori yelled. "Just tell me what you mean about having two lives!"

"Because for the first time in probably my _entire life _I have a life that's NORMAL!" Mad Dawg snapped. By now, most of the family was watching the heated exchange, no one wanting to be the one to object to what was happening. Honestly, they were surprised this hadn't happened sooner, or that it was Lori who was the one arguing the points. "Your family gave me an out that I've been looking for since I was a kid! No violence! No crazy mad scientists! Just dealing with day-to-day life, and what I was _FORCED _to be! Do you have any idea what it's like being the only one of your kind?! What it's like living every day knowing you don't belong!? To lose your family in an instant and then desperately struggle to even _attempt_ to see them again!?"

"And yet you're walking around with heroin needles! Around my family! You endanger them with your stupid stunts in an attempt to 'help' them, and then try and claim any of that is NORMAL!? You turn into a literal _monster,_ rob a scientific institution with a sniper rifle, and build machines that could kill, burn, maim someone, or all three, and yet you think that's normal!? What kind of 'normal' is that in ANY regard!?"

"Look, first of all, I had those needles because I was trying to clean the park so others wouldn't get sick! And second, just because I've done some stupid things, and most likely will do more stupid things, doesn't mean I set out to hurt people!"

"And _there's _my issue with you! That's the difference between you and me!" Lori retorted. "For all the talk of change you spit, all the want to be better, you keep doing bad things that get people hurt!"

"Yeah!? Well, first of all, I hurt _bad people _who wanted to hurt or KILL _good people _so I'd say that's kinda justified! Second, so far, _I'M _the one who's gotten hurt the most! Sure, there's been cuts and crap, but that's life! You can't seriously blame me for that! And third, at the end of the day, the difference between you and me is that I didn't _hurt my own brother_ because of my actions!" Mad Dawg snapped, his anger genuine over the accusations being laid against him. Before any of the Louds could speak up, someone beat them too it.

"No! The difference between you and I is that I'm _human._" Lori snapped, and the reaction from Mad Dawg was immediate. He dropped his drink and simply stared at her as if he had just mentally crashed. His eyes both widened and yet somehow shrunk at the same time, and he seemed to stop breathing. Lori also realized what she had just said, and realized the implications of it all. In fact, everyone in the house did.

"Wow…" Mad Dawg finally got out, disgust and shock clear in his voice and face.

"Wait, Mad Dawg, I-"

"Wow." Mad Dawg cut her off. "You _**really**_just went there, huh?"

"Dawg- I…" Lori tried to speak, but received a middle finger, cutting her off.

"Don't." Mad Dawg shook his head. Without another word, he turned and left, quietly closing the door as he left, the only audible sound being his engine revving to life, and the sound of Dawg driving off.

"Lori? What was that?" Lincoln quietly asked, finally breaking the silence. "That… that was wrong."

"I stand by what I said." Lori said coldly. "And that's all I have to say." Without another word, the oldest Loud sister left the room, leaving an awkward and cold silence as everyone took in what had just happened, the only sound being a door slamming.

"Is he gonna come back?" Lana finally asked.

"I dunno." Lincoln shrugged. "I'll give him an hour, then I'll call and see how he's doing…"

"Right now, what I think he needs is to be alone." Rita suggested. "That… I can't imagine what he's feeling right now, Lori either…"

"That was wrong of her! What gives her the right to say those things!?" Lola demanded, agitated at the way her eldest sister treated her friend/pageant-supporter.

"Don't blame Lori." Leni said. "She had a point, and she honestly was just looking after us…"

Twenty minutes later, and to everyone's surprise, the door re-opened and Mad Dawg walked back in, holding two slushies. Without warning, he walked past them all and knocked on the closed door. About ten seconds later, Lori opened the door, expecting to see her parents or siblings demanding answers, and was surprised to see Mad Dawg. Who passed one of the slushes to Lori, who took it in confusion and looked up to him, seeing that he seemed… calm.

"Okay." He said matter-of-factly. "So, I went and cleared my head, drank three of these, and got to thinking. I think mistakes were just made, on both sides. I don't know if you feel the same way about that, but I wanna talk about this… if you'll let me."

"…okay." Lori nodded, the two of them wordlessly walking through the house, before leaving the house and sitting on the back deck.

"I know you hate me." Mad Dawg began in probably the calmest, most 'real' tone Lori had heard him speak in. "And I don't blame you. I literally fell from the sky, you proceeded to run me over, and then… well, I continued being me. I know I'm not always the easiest guy to like, but I wanna know, why do you not trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, I don't trust what you _do."_ Lori corrected Mad Dawg. "It's kind of annoying that you're as vulgar as you are, or that you clearly drink underaged, but I don't really care too much about that. What I care about, is what my sisters see."

"Ah." Mad Dawg nodded. "You think they're picking up the crap I do, and they'll do it themselves…"

"Yes." Lori nodded sharply. "But aside from that, the _things _you do is what concerns me. You've clearly hurt and supposedly killed people, you blatantly and stupidly risk your own life for what amounts to attention. You knowingly entered a room with my sister knowing fully well that you might not have full control over yourself and did because 'screw it, why the hell not?'. That's my issue with you."

The two sat in silence, both quietly sipping on the slush. Mad Dawg didn't seem angered, he seemed more disappointed than anything. This time, it was his turn to unload.

"That's true, all of it." He admitted. "I guess part of that has to do with the fact that I'm not… social. In complete honesty, your world is the calmest, sanest and most relaxed place I have ever been! Going from fighting bad guys every day, blowing stuff up and having a great time with my friends to having to act chill and lie about everything was just… a mess for me."

"Not to mention you were literally one-of-a-kind here." Lori added. "I still have a hard time believing you are what you are."

"Yeah, so disbelieving that you tried to kill me with a rock to test that theory." Mad Dawg smirked and Lori sputtered in annoyance.

"You appeared out of nowhere, got hit by a van, and then attacked my sister! How was I _supposed_ to react!?"

"Your logic is flawless!" Mad Dawg exclaimed in mock shock, getting a snort from Lori.

"Look, the truth of it is, I didn't trust you when we first met, because everything about you physically said 'violent'. Then, when you blacked out and talked about everything, that didn't help matters. What I heard in that moment was that you had hurt people, killed people, and you would do it again. I was scared Dawg, not for my safety, but my sisters' and Lincoln's. If I'm brutally honest, you _terrify _me."

"Is it the monster thing?"

"Yes, that's part of it." Lori nodded. "And what also scares me is just… knowing what you were meant to be, and seeing what you can still do, that truly scares me. Please don't take that as a personal attack, but for all intents and purposes, you are still a living weapon."

"I mean, it kinda is." Mad Dawg frowned, but seemed to understand. "And… look, do you think I _wanted _to become this?! Technically speaking, I shouldn't _exist!_ My creation was a mistake, so that's two cards dealt against me already… then I had no family, saw some traumatic stuff, had a family, they hated me, I lost that family…"

"I'm sorry, that was wrong of me to say."

"No, no. It wasn't. If anything, I needed to hear you say it." Mad Dawg admitted. "I couldn't tell if you hated me or feared me, and because of that, I avoided you because I didn't know how to talk to you."

The silenced returned as they looked out at the clouds in the sky. There wasn't an angered or icy feeling between the two this time. In fact, it seemed like there was a peaceful middle ground they had found.

"There's something else." Mad Dawg remarked. "There's something you want to say, but you're afraid, or unwilling, or don't know how, or-"

"I'm leaving for University next year." Lori finally admitted. "I was supposed to go in September, but some stuff got pushed back, so I'm going in January. This'll be the first time I'll be living without my ten other siblings, and I don't know how to feel about that."

"Okay…" Mad Dawg said, not getting the point.

"I want them to be safe, I want the best for them, and when you showed up, I was afraid that when I was gone, things would go wrong and I wouldn't be there to help."

"Oh."

"School is hard enough, but then I live with ten siblings, and then a mutant living death weapon shows up and starts hanging out _with_ my siblings and potentially getting them hurt." Lori concluded. The younger mutant looked to her, took a sip, then nodded.

"If it's any consolation, if all goes as planned, I'll be outta here by November." Mad Dawg admitted. "Lisa and I are workin' on something, and I think it might work!"

"You seem to be putting a lot of faith in Lisa, why is that?" Lori asked.

"Because I want my family!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, his eyes conveying a lot more sadness then Lori expected. "I… I just wanna go home… and Lisa might be the best chance I'll get. I mean, let me ask you, what would you do if you were me? What would you do if you lost your family, and then found out there's a chance you can see them again? How far would you go for your family?"

That had never fully connected for Lori. Yes, Mad Dawg was from another dimension (or something like that), but whatever it was, he wasn't here by _choice_. In fact, his family most likely assume he was long dead, and that was something she couldn't imagine… Living knowing everyone thinks your dead? And you have no way to contact them?

"I'm not going back on what I said, but I do want to apologize for saying you weren't human." Lori added, and Mad Dawg seemed to grow rather awkward. "That was a step too far."

"Yeah, human…" He muttered. "I gotta ask, what's so great about being human?"

"Seriously?" Lori asked, mostly in disbelief. "You were just going on and on about how you want to live a normal life, how you want to be human… and now you're asking what's so great about it?"

For the briefest of moments, Lori feared she had upset Mad Dawg due to the reaction on his face, but then when she saw his mouth twitching as he struggled to hold back a smile, she just shook her head.

"…I have feelings too…" Mad Dawg finally said.

"I know, but Luna has a girlfriend."

"Excuse you?!"

"I've seen the way you look at her."

"And have you seen the way I look at you?"

Lori genuinely chocked and then spat her drink out in shock, which Mad Dawg fall backwards with laughter at her face.

"That wasn't funny!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, it was!" Mad Dawg laughed.

"I don't see how Lincoln puts up with you…"

"Eh, different people, different strengths." Mad Dawg shrugged. It was safe to say that there wa space between the two. Not a bond, and not friendship, but there was common ground at the very least. Mad Dawg honestly understood just about all of Lori's reasoning (aside from the 'human' remark…) and thankfully, Lori at least seemed willing to listen. If something happened and he was dragged home at this very second, Mad Dawg would be fine with it, as he had at least talked out his major issues with the one who was giving him grief. Well, it wasn't fair to say she was giving _him _grief… but he was gonna for the sake of his own reasoning. They finished their drinks and then both nodded, their conversation was done. There wasn't anything else to say at the moment, so Mad Dawg headed back in to find the Loud parents.

"Mad Dawg? Is everything all right?" Lynn Sr. asked, and Mad Dawg nodded.

"Yeah, things are gonna be okay." He nodded. "But uh… there is something I needed to talk to you two about."

"Is anything wrong?" Rita asked, not sure how to feel about Mad Dawg's uncertain face.

"No, it's just… Look, Lana and Lola want me to join them on Halloween…" Mad Dawg admitted, leaning against a doorway. "They want me… they want me to be that, well, other side. They want me to be that and go with them as they go around town."

Mad Dawg expected (and somewhat hoped) for an immediate 'No' response from the Loud Family patriarch, so he was rather taken aback when that didn't happen. It took the parents a moment to realize what he was getting at, and they looked to one another in surprise.

"I mean… they asked you?" Rita said aloud.

"Mm." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure…?" Mad dawg blinked, not sure what he was getting at now.

"Are you comfortable with it?" Lynn Sr. asked, and Mad dawg genuinely couldn't answer for a minute.

"What?"

"Are you comfortable with being that… thing. Sorry if that's offensive… but with being that thing and being seen around town while in that form? I understand and appreciate your apprehension and care for my daughters' safety, but the question does have to be asked: how do you feel about it?"

"Wrong." Mad Dawg admitted after a few moments of silence. "Like… I was made to be a weapon, and now I'm supposed to be a Lycan-Larper? But at the same time, I'm totally down to do it! This is who and what I am, and I can't keep trying to bury it and hope everything gets better. That's kinda why I've been training out in the woods…"

"I'm kinda surprised by that. Normally you seem like you'd dive in head-first on something like this." Rita remarked. "Not to sound crude, but you seem to live for doing extreme things."

"Oh, I totally would!" Mad Dawg answered, laughing slightly. "But… it's the age gap, mostly. With Luna and the band, they could take care of themselves if something went horribly wrong."

"Which it did."

"And which wasn't my fault."

"I thought you said it was…" Rita blinked.

"I lied. If there was going to be any legal repercussions, I didn't want the band suffering." Mad Dawg admitted, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "No one was at fault for what happened, but it made sense if someone was to be blamed, it should be the new guy."

"Right… well, I do understand your apprehension, but something else I'd like to ask is… do you have some sort of… I can't believe I'm saying this… leash?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"I'm gonna need some context to that." Mad Dawg said, leaning back slightly. Rita blinked, then paled slightly.

"No! No… I mean, is there any way to control that thing? Er- you… I mean…"

"Oh, kinda." Mad Dawg nodded. "Like when we were filming the video, I can get a tranq gun or something to knock me out should things get bad, but if I AM going to do this, I don't wanna do it alone…"

"I'm surprised you thought you would." Lynn Sr. remarked. "If you're going to do this, I most defiantly would be there as well. They are my children after all."

"Totally fair." Mad Dawg nodded. "I've got some stuff to kinda… force me into tranquility, so to say."

"I'll be completely honest with you, I'm fine with you doing this." Lynn Sr. nodded. "Under the condition that I am with them, and we have a number of safeguards in place to keep any… 'incidents' from happening."

"Fair." Mad Dawg nodded, then looked to Rita. "If you're not comfortable with this, then that's that. I won't do this if you both aren't okay with it."

Rita noticeably seemed nervous about the whole idea. She hadn't seen this 'other side' of Mad Dawg, aside form he brief glimpses in the video for Luna's band, and that alone made her nervous. Real or costume, it seemed like Mad Dawg could do some real damage… but at the same time, he seemed genuine in his concerns and willingness to keep things under control.

"If… if you are able to have control, and if Lynn Sr. is with you… I'm okay with it." She slowly nodded. "Except you're back by eight-thirty, and should even the slightest twitch of something going wrong happens, you leave. Immediately."

"A'right." Mad Dawg nodded with a smile. "Deal."

Mad Dawg left the adults to look for either Lola or Lana, finding both of them in their room, looking over some costumes which Mad Dawg assumed were the 'Apocalyprincess' thing they had been talking about.

"Hey." Hey said, getting their attention.

"Mad Dawg! Uh, are you… are you okay?" Lola asked, biting her lip slightly as she did so.

"Yeah, things are good, don't worry about it." Mad Dawg nodded, then grinned. "I talked with your folks, and… I'm in."

"Wait, really!?" Lana exclaimed hopefully.

"Yeah." Mad Dawg smirked. "There's gonna be an apocalyptic monster with ya this Halloween!"

**Next time… Halloween! **

**Two or three chapters left… stay tuned!**


	15. Night Of The Beast: The Finale

Mad Dawg finished walking through a maze, looking around and grinning like an idiot. When he came the exit, he looked to Lucy and nodded.

"Awesome!" He grinned.

"Thanks." Lucy said in her basic drawl. The two sat down and watched some leaves blow by. It was October 30th, one day from Halloween… and everything was ready. Mad Dawg felt anxious, and he didn't- no, that was a lie, he knew well why he felt this way.

"Hey, when we were planning this, you mentioned it was nice meeting someone like you… what exactly did you mean?"

"Some people think I'm weird for liking what I do. It was nice to meet someone else who would be considered weird."

"Ahh… well, screw being normal!" Mad Dawg remarked. "If you're happy with who you are, and no one's getting hurt, who are they to tell you how to live?"

"I feel like you've told yourself that more times than you can count." Lucy stated matter-of-factly.

"And?"

"I dunno." Lucy shrugged.

"Hey, if you're enjoying this, don't let me stop you." Mad Dawg nodded as he got up. "So, they go in through here, then they exit near my place, where they can leave if they don't want to go all the way…"

Lucy blinked, there was something Mad Dawg was trying to say, she could clearly tell what it was… but he didn't seem to be able to put it into words. Still, his sentiment was heartfelt, and Lucy nodded at the unspoken explanation.

"Right, did you get those signs made like I asked?"

"Yeah, they're drying… and if it didn't turn out right, I'll figure something out."

The next afternoon, Mad Dawg, Clyde, Lincoln and Rusty were cutting through the pathway Mad Dawg had cleared for them, leading them directly to the woods in the town park.

"…from here, you go down that sidewalk, and Lincoln takes over form there!" Mad Dawg concluded. Truthfully, Lincoln's plans were a million times better than anything he had come up with, so he was kinda happy to turn it over to the only Loud boy,

They kept trekking, plotting their path, when Dawg looked at his phone.

"Hey, I gotta jet. I'll see you guys tonight!" He called as he ran off.

When he reached home, Mad Dawg sighed deeply. This was it… his last chance to back out. Claim he was sick… anything…

When no excuse came to his mind, Mad Dawg smiled. He was going to do this… He had control! Nothing could go wrong!

**Ha. Bet. **

Eating a meal of nachos and dragon fruit, Mad Dawg waited until five, then headed to the basement. Pulling a sheet off of a device he had been building, he frowned, but knew what he had to do. Picking it up and affixing it to himself, he felt the metal pins poke his mouth. It hurt, and was degrading… but it was necessary. Heading upstairs and into his backyard, Mad Dawg scarfed down a few 'meditation brownies' and focused, breathing deeply until he felt something snap inside him.

Over at the Loud house, Lola and Lana were finishing up getting their costumes on… a process which took far longer than it probably should've as Lola wanted to make sure _everything _was perfect.

"C'monnnn…" Lana moaned. "You look fffiiinnneee…"

"Not yet. I'm almost done!" Lola insisted, adding another layer of face paint to the tribal designs she and Lana were adorned in. "And… Perfect! Wait, hang on…"

Lana moaned in protest and flopped down in a chair, waiting for her sister to finish, thinking that they could be here all night.

"You two almost ready?" Lynn Sr. asked, entering his daughters' room. On his belt a flashlight rested, on the other side was a small holster… he didn't think he'd need what Dawg had supplied him with, but he was taking no chances with his daughters getting hurt.

Outside, Rita was lighting candles in pumpkins when she heard a deep, animalistic breathing. She tensed for a moment, then her tension turned to amazement as she saw who was approaching.

"Girls? Your… your monster is here!" She called.

With heavy breaths and footsteps, Mad Dawg appeared from around a corner. Chains draped over his body along with what looked like a saddle on his back. His mouth was kept shut by some sort of muzzle-device, and he walked, the world froze. The neighbours around the Loud house stopped and gawked at what to them looked like the most extravagant costume anyone had ever seen.

"Hey." Mad Dawg nodded. Standing at the end of the walkway, fidgeting with the chains he had wrapped around himself. About a minute later, Lola and Lana exited their house, now dressed in torn dresses and camo war paint. They dropped the fake weapons they carried and stared in amazement at what stood before them.

"Mad Dawg!?"

"Hm."

"THAT IS SO COOL!" Lola exclaimed, her eyes widening beyond belief. Lana had seen Luna's music video a few more times, and wasn't expecting Mad Dawg to be so… big. She ran around him, growling like a dog… for some reason.

"Spray me." Mad Dawg instructed, pushing a box of hairspray towards them. The two Louds blinked, the grinned, setting to work spraying designs and highlights across Mad Dawg. Giving parts of his fur a swamp-green colour, and giving his hands and feet a mud-like brown. When they were done, Mad Dawg let out a low growl-like sound and grinned, keeping his eye shut for a second as the hairspray around his eyes quickly dried, giving him a racoon-like mask.

"I…I can't…wow…" Luan sputtered, looking at Mad Dawg in utter shock, which was shared by the entirety of the family who hadn't seen this previously. Standing to his full height (Which in this form reached nearly seven feet.) Mad Dawg looked down and let out a laugh-like growl. Lucy saw the beast and felt a slight twang of sympathy. The device she had seen… that's what this was for. He was so afraid of hurting someone he forced himself to wear a device to keep his mouth shut.

"Hey." He got out, standing still for a few minutes as everyone came out to see 'The Beast' up close and personal. Naturally, a bunch of pictures were taken, before the two younger Louds wanted to get going. As they grabbed their bags, Mad Dawg looked to Lynn Sr. who still seemed taken aback by how big Mad Dawg was, unconsciously running a hand along Mad Dawg's fur.

"This a problem?" He asked.

"No, it shouldn't be." Lynn Sr. shook his head.

"You have the…"

"Yeah, I doubt I'll need it, but I have it."

"Any advice?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Just… act casual."

"Casual." Mad Dawg nodded, trying to walk casual. _"Casually approach child." _

Lana grabbed one of the chains and took the lead, Lola walking next to him with Dawg behind them. There was a constant shadow over the two girls as they walked, but neither one cared too much. This was beyond what they had expected… so hey, in the end it did pay to have a trans-dimensional-living-weapon-werewolf-mutant-monster-teen-thing as a friend!

Meanwhile Mad Dawg was walking in a way similar to that Sasquatch dance from that one game Mad Dawg had never played… PUBG? Yeah, wait… was it that one? Whatever. Regardless, this was Mad Dawg trying to walk 'casually' while on his hind legs in this form.

"C'mon! The first house is just up here!" Lola said excitedly. When they got to the end of the walk way, the girls entered through the small entrance, and felt the ground shake when something landed behind them. Turning around Mad Dawg had gotten around the issue of getting through the doorway in the fence by simply jumping over said fence. "…right." Lola blinked, realizing that doors may be an issue.

Mad Dawg watched the two as they walked up, got their candy, briefly explained to the shocked parents who he was, and then came back to move on. Mad Dawg waved as he jumped back over the fence, landing on all fours and looking around. His brownies hitting his gut, making the world seem a little off. He couldn't hold back a low laugh which got their attention.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great." Mad Dawg nodded, swaying ever so lightly. "Let's go!"

And so, it went, every house or so, someone would stop to take a picture of Mad Dawg, and the teenage mutant had no issue with it. Lola and Lana were clearly having the time of their lives with all the attention Mad Dawg brought them, and they had also gotten a lot of candy, which helped that feeling too.

"…head down this street!" Lana said, looking around.

"We just came from that street!" Lola retorted.

"Now we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!"

"Girls-" Lynn Sr. began.

"No, we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!"

"No, we di-"

Lana was cut off mid-protest when Mad Dawg suddenly picked her up with one of his huge hands. Rising to his full height, he put the young Loud girl on his shoulder. After a few moments, she recognized some of the extravagant decorations they had passed earlier.

"Oh, uh… you were right, sorry." She admitted.

"Hey, could you…" Lola began looking up at Mad Dawg, who grinned, set Lana down, and put Lola up on her shoulder. The other Loud twin looked around in amazement before Dawg set her back down.

"Okay! It's thataway!" She declared pointing in another direction, and the group set off.

"How you holding up?" Lynn Sr. asked as they walked.

"Better than I expected." Mad Dawg confessed. "Not really tense. No anxious… feels nice."

"They seem to be enjoying themselves." The father nodded to his children.

"Good." Mad Dawg nodded.

Across town, Lincoln, Rusty and Clyde exited from one of the shortcuts Lincoln and dawg had set up, having made it to most of the houses they had planned for hitting that hour in about half the time.

"Okay, I'm just saying…" Rusty began again. "We could make these into actual maps and sell them, and make some good money off of them!"

"And let everyone else know about our shortcuts?" Lincoln asked.

"Oh, yeah… fair enough!"

Heading down another street, Lincoln and Rusty headed up to another house while Clyde stopped to check his phone. When the other boys returned, his face made it clear something was wrong.

"What's happening?" Lincoln immediately asked, knowing the look on his friend's face.

"Hank and Hawk are apparently giving people trouble tonight." Clyde explained. "I don't know if they have it out for us or not, but we should try and avoid them if we see them…"

"Uh… Mad Dawg kinda pissed them off the other day…" Rusty admitted nervously. "They wanted money from me, and Dawg outright attacked Hawk. It was pretty awesome! But I think they might wanna go after him if they see him…"

"Isn't he with your sisters?!" Clyde asked, suddenly feeling nervous about the potential mishaps that could occur.

"They're with my dad. They'll be fine."

Another hour passed, and it seemed like Lana and Lola were beginning to approach being done, which was fine with Mad Dawg… he needed to get home and get ready for the shows he was going to perform… Still, they were in another neighbourhood which he didn't recognize, but thought he may have run through during his nighttime runs when he-

His thoughts were cut off by an aggressive cough, which made him stop walking and lower his head. Shaking aggressively, Lana and Lola slid off the makeshift seat he had affixed to himself and looked to him in concern.

"I…need…" He coughed, then ducked into a nearby alley. Fumbling with the chains Mad Dawg pulled the muzzle like-device off and took in several deep breaths. That was the one downside to this whole thing… the muzzle kept him from going berserk, but it also made it hard to breathe at times…

"Wait here." Lynn Sr. said, leaving his daughters for a few seconds to go check on Mad Dawg, his hand close to the tranq darts in case something was going wrong. Unfortunately, neither Dawg nor Lynn Sr. saw the two teens approaching Lana and Lola one he disappeared for a moment. "Mad Dawg, you okay?"

"Ca…f…caffeine…" He weakly got out, as Mad Dawg realized what was wrong with him. "Argh… Need… energy…"

"Wait here!" Lynn Sr. said, running down the alley and through a back door he unlocked. It now occurred to Mad Dawg that they happened to be behind his resturaunt that Dawg had been two once or twice over the past few weeks… how he didn't realize they were this close was beyond him. This was another issue with his mutation he had found during his training. Sustaining this side took a _LOT _of energy, and his brownies which kept him calm took some of that energy away, so he needed to have energy boosts every few hours to make sure nothing went wrong. Obnoxiously, one of the things that left first was his hearing, for some reason the lack of energy shut that down without warning… leaving him deaf to the cirs of protest coming from the street. A minute later, Lynn Sr. returned and passed Mad Dawg a can. Before he could say a word, Mad Dawg ripped the can in half, guzzling the contents in seconds. He twitched spastically or a second then sighed.

"Okay… sorry about that…" He muttered.

"Never mind that, are you okay?!" Lynn Sr. demanded as Mad Dawg re-attached the muzzle.

"Yeah. This thing needs a lotta energy… I didn't… see how long I ha…had been out." Mad Dawg explained as best he could.

"Well, if you need more, there's a vending machine at the corner store down there, I think they have some of those Phoenix drinks you really like."

"Hmm." Mad Dawg nodded, re-latching the muzzle into place. "I'll catch up… a minute."

Lynn Sr. nodded, heading back to check on his daughters, Mad Dawg not noticing him running when he heard his daughters crying. Leaving the alley on the other side, Mad Dawg looked around, then headed for a convenience store called… Quick-Stop. Where had he heard that before? Still, there was a bigger problem than his mind fart… there was no vending machine, and the doors were small. It took him a minute, but he managed to get inside the store, snaking his way awkwardly to the back, and raiding the cooler of several cases of Phoenix energy. Walking by the cashier, he slapped a pile of money on the counter, way. Way, WAY more than he needed.

"Keep the change." He said to the bewildered cashier.

"Uh… Happy Halloween?" He ventured.

"You too!" Mad Dawg nodded as he left.

Sitting down outside the store, Mad Dawg powered through three cans, knowing he needed to save the others for later tonight. Thankfully, it was only a three-minute run to his place form here, and aside from some terrified trick-or-treaters, it was uneventful. But it was as he was re-approaching the Louds that things decided to take a turn for the worse.

"…just ran off with it! Again!"

"Lola, I'm sorry, Mad Dawg needed help, but I shouldn't have left you two to-"

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Mad Dawg demanded, closing the distance by running and skidding to a stop. His body language seemed to be that of a dangerous predator, but his face was one of concern. He looked around, seeing Lola seemed scraped, and Lana seemed more scraped than usual… also, the bags of candy they had were gone.

"It was those jerks Hank and Hawk!" Lana said, angered tears on her face. "They pushed us over and stole our candy! They've been doing it all night to kids all across town! They stole it and rn back to Hank's place!"

The growl from Mad Dawg wasn't loud, but it was audible. Mad Dawg's eyes changed to a dark, fiery orange as his fur bristled. The growl got louder, and the creaking of meatal could be heard, getting everyone's attention. This was then followed by the muzzle on his face shattering to fragments of twisted metal as anger seemed to completely overtake him.

"_**WHERE?" **_Mad Dawg demanded, his jaws opening for the single word, and furious breath bursting forth, followed by saliva like that of a rabid animal coating his teeth. Teeth which seemed to inexplicably _grow larger _and more jagged with that word. Slowly, one of the girls pointed towards a house and Mad Dawg snarled and swore multiple times, storming off towards it. Those who knew Dawg felt like they needed to shout for him not to hurt them… but the shock kept them quiet.

Approaching the house, Mad Dawg's feet left imprints in the grass as he approached the house, wheeled back, and gently knocked on the door. After a few moments, a goth teen opened the door, and Mad Dawg thought Lucy had aged ten years somehow.

"Uh…" She muttered in confusion. "Can I help you?"

"Hank. Hawk." He seethed.

"One sec…"

The door closed for a full minute, Mad Dawg impatiently tapping his foot, waiting for the bullies to show up, or for him to grow bored and simply break down the door. But after a minute, the door re-opened. With an annoyed and bored Hank and Hawk standing there.

"What do you…wan…" Hank began, but the words died in his throat.

Before another word could be spoken, the festive night air was pierced by the most demonically-deafening draconic roar anyone had ever heard. Hank and Hawk were left unable to do anything other than stand frozen in fear as the full force of the Beast's roar over took them. After about ten seconds, the silence returned, and then was followed by the only thing that could be done.

Screaming.

Hank and Hawk practically trampled one another as they ran past Mad Dawg and down the street, screaming to the heavens all the way. Through the screams, declarations of their refusal to return, and cries for mercy could be made out, and the two bullies kept running, and running, and running…

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" Mad Dawg roared after the bullies. "…I loved doing that." Mad Dawg smirked, before looking back to his greatest challenge when in this inhuman form…

_DOORS. _

It took about five minutes, but Mad Dawg got inside the extremely cramped home, and immediately saw the stolen bags… and there were a TON… if they hadn't hurt his friends, Mad Dawg would've been impressed with their efficiency. But that point was mute.

"Hey…?" The Goth girl spoke up again, clearly nervous, but also interested in Mad Dawg.

"Who. Are you?" He asked, his anger making it hard for him to speak clearly.

"Tamara. Hank's older sister." She remarked with an eye roll as if she wasn't too happy about that fact. "That was diabolical by the way! I haven't seen them scream like that since last Halloween!"

Mad Dawg flashed her a toothy grin, and the Goth girl approached once more.

"So… can I get a picture?" Tamara asked, holding up her phone, and Mad Dawg grinned again, getting into position and taking some pictures.

About ten minutes later, dragging the ill-ill-gotten gains with him, Mad Dawg left the house dragging anywhere from fifteen to thirty bags with him. It took a few trips, but eventually he got them all (aside from what Tamara had stolen off the tops, but she was cool, so Dawg let it slide). The bags, which were full of stolen candy, he left on the sidewalk for the kids to come and retrieve. Granted, there was a LOT of tension as the first few came up to get their bags, clearly shaking in fear at being even fifteen feet near Mad Dawg, so he backed up some more.

"It's okay, I ain't here… t'fight." He got out with a nod. Timidly, a young girl roughly the same age as Lola, approached Mad Dawg. In turn, Mad Dawg lowered his head so he wasn't towering above her even when he was sitting.

"H..hello there." She stammered.

"General Kenobi."

"What?"

"I don't know…" Mad Dawg muttered, unsure as to what he just said. Slowly, the girl reached out and felt his fur, seemingly becoming entranced with it.

"This feel so real…" She whispered. "How did you do this?!"

"Heh. Long… long story." He smirked.

"Thank you, Dawg!" Lola exclaimed, hugging the mutant's side. "That wasn't too much trouble for you, was it?"

"You kiddin' me?" Mad Dawg laughed. "I've wanted t'do that for months!"

"Is there anything you want? Anything I can let you have?" Lana asked, amazed at how this had turned out. Mad Dawg looked down at her bag and pointed. "The black liquorice? Fine, take it. I hate that stuff."

"Same." Lola grimaced.

"What!? I love that stuff!" Mad Dawg replied, seeming downright offended by the remark. The two girls tossed him the candy, and Dawg caught it mid-air, chomping it down in a few bites.

"Why am I the onl'one who likes this stuff?" He muttered.

"Because you're weird." Lola replied.

"…you're mean." Mad Dawg said, hunching inwards and looking away.

By now, the other kids had come to retrieve their food, and to look at the *ahem* 'Costumed' Mad Dawg, needless to say, there was a lot of interest.

"That's so cool!"

"How's his face do all that!?"

"Great, the furries are taking over…"

"What's it made of?!"

"Where'd he get that!?"

Eventually, a small gathering had formed, and Mad Dawg looked around, unsure of what to say or do. Thankfully, someone seemed to sense the awkward tension, and put two speakers on their balcony, and began blaring some techno Halloween dance music. The got everyone into a party mood, and Mad Dawg was at the center of it all. He hung around for another half an hour, the spontaneous street dance party still going, until he noticed Lynn Sr. collecting Lana and Lola.

"I think it's time they head home." He remarked, and Mad Dawg nodded. "I'll be seeing you later, whatever you and Lucy have cooked up… Rita agreed to go through it with Howard and Harold, so I'm going as well."

"Good…" Mad Dawg grinned. "I'm heading out too…"

Shaking himself off, Mad dawg turned and waved good-bye to the small gathering, who all waved good-bye to Mad Dawg, and he set off into the night.

"Linc, you're a genius!" Clyde exclaimed as they exited another one of the shortcuts. "We've gotten double what we normally do! And we still have… what? Two hours?!"

"Something like that, remind me to thank Mad Dawg for figuring some of these out…"

"Dude, we're being followed." Rusty suddenly muttered. Lincoln shot a brief glance over his shoulder seeing Hank and Hawk in the distance, trying and failing to act casual as they followed them.

"Just keep moving, we'll cut through the park and get back to my place." Lincoln said, his mind quickly jumping to a plan. The small group began to walk a. bit faster, hoping it was just a coincidence that they ran into one another when…

"HEY! LOUD! MCBRIDE! SPOKES!"

"Aw, crud… run!" Lincoln exclaimed, the trio taking off down the street.

Meanwhile, Mad Dawg was cutting through the woods, heading back home, feeling _awesome_ on so many levels. He ran on all fours, just letting the wind roar by as he ran, when he reached one of his exits, he saw a trio running off in the distance, and from the costume alone, he recognized them.

"Lincoln?" He muttered. His confusion turned to aggression when he saw Hank and Hawk running after them, entering a nearby junkyard. "Pick on someone your own size you ugly sons of bit-"

Leaves crunched as Mad Dawg took off running again, closing the distance and entering the junk yard, crashing through the chain link fence the others had climbed over. As he whirled around for any idea of where they were, he could hear voices not too far away.

"….that freak Dawg guy has been hanging around you losers a lot, and _he _has been messing with our plans! So, we're gonna send him a message through you… and it's gonna hurt… a lot."

Clyde was struggling against Hank's grip, he had nothing but bad experiences with this guy, and had no idea what Mad Dawg did to piss them off… but hopefully it hurt. Meanwhile, Hawk was keeping Lincoln and Rusty from interfering.

"If you have the balls, say it to his face." Clyde finally remarked, shocking everyone with his bluntness and seeming fearlessness.

"What was that McBride!?" Hank yelled, grabbing Clyde and pulling him close to threaten him. Annoyingly, Clyde didn't seem frightened. "By the time I'm done with you, your dads'll ditch you like your mother did!"

"**NOT. COOL." **

Dropping the younger boy, Hank turned around and realized what the 'say-it-to-his-face' remark was about… Mad Dawg was right behind him. When once more confronted with the monster, the bullies didn't know what to say, until Hawk stepped up.

"Hey! Fur-freak!" Hawk called. "You think it's some big riot to show up and try and get the drop on us like that?! You think it's funny?! Well, I can tell you know that you'll be laughing on the other side of the town when we're done with-"

Mad Dawg grabbed the rusted husk of a nearby junker car and ripped it in two, throwing the metallic chunks of car to one side each as he glared down at those who thought they could take him. The whole junk yard went still as a grave as realization dawned on Hank, Hawk, Rusty and Clyde.

"That thing's real!?" Hank shouted.

"Yeah, he's real." Clyde muttered, seeing the fire in Dawg's eyes. "And he's _really_ pissed."

"Here's all twenty reasons." Mad Dawg growled, then in four blindingly quick strikes, he had punched Hank twice, and kicked Hawk twice. The force was clearly much stronger than anything they had felt, and that was because Mad Dawg was mentally pulling all the breaks.

Mad Dawg took a few steps towards Hank. He was angry, he was tired, and he was hungry. Going into this form burned through his energy like mad… so, he wanted to wrap this up and leave. Hank and Hawk were nothing more than the 'bully' character from most 90's kids films. He didn't need to hurt them, he didn't need to kill them, he just needed to get his message across and-

_**BANG!**_

Tearing through the night sky, a gunshot echoed through the junkyard, and Mad Dawg roared in pain. Stumbling backwards, his hand jumped to his chest where a bleeding hole now was. Everyone else recoiled in absolute terror… aside form Hawk, who held said gun. However, when Mad Dawg didn't go down, Hawk began to realize he was so deeply screwed. And when he saw the look of cold-blooded murder on Mad Dawg's face, he completely realized his mistake.

"What are you doing man!?" Hank shouted in disbelief. Both at the fact that Hawk somehow _had a gun _and more importantly, _shot the giant beast-thing that seemed to be willing to show them mercy._ Before Hawk could say or move, Mad Dawg roared and lurched forward, his claws digging into the ground. Hawk took off running out of the junk yard, and Mad Dawg was barrelling after him. Skidding across the ground, Mad Dawg gave chase, not sure where he was going to end up, but just wanting revenge now more than anything. A few car alarms went off as Mad Dawg ran past, or through, them in his angered pursuit.

"What were you two thinking!?" Rusty demanded. "You thought you could shoot him and not piss him off?! How did you even-"

"I had no idea Hawk had a gun man!" Hank protested. "I _NEVER _would've agreed to this! I thought we were just gonna rough you guys up! How do we stop him?!"

"…I think I know where he's going!" Lincoln exclaimed. "C'mon! We need to use his plans!"

Hank had no idea what Lincoln was talking about, but his friend might end up dead if they didn't do anything, so he followed after them as they ran in the opposite direction. Like it or not, this was his fault, and now he had to save his friend and try and calm whatever literal monster he had awakened.

On a bench on the sidewalk, Sam and Luna had left a part for a minute to get some fresh air, enjoying the cool breeze.

"Hey, it's Halloween and he's Mad Dawg! What's the worst that could happen?" Luna asked sarcastically.

Without warning Hawk ran by in terror, followed by a very pissed off monstrous Mad Dawg.

"That." Sam remarked.

"Should we do something?"

"If there's sirens, yes. If not, he probably tried to steel Lana and Lola's candy, and Dawg's scaring his straight." Luna reasoned, not realizing how far off she was from the truth.

Setting some things down on a small mural, Bobby Santiago jumped to his feet when he heard his mother scream in terror. Running into another room, he saw his mother sheet-white staring out a window.

"What's wrong?!" He exclaimed

"There… there was some la bestia just outside…"

"A beast? What are… oh…" Bobby began but trailed off when he realized who she was most likely talking about. "Uh… about that…"

The duo kept running, not noticing that they had ran into Lucy's corn maze, Mad Dawg still mindlessly pursuing the bully while his mind was screaming for him to stop.

"_ARE YOU INSANE!? HE'S SCARED ENOUGH! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" _His mind screamed. _"DON'T RUIN YOUR ONE CHANCE AT A NORMAL LIFE!" _

"_PrOVe tO ThIS tOwN wHAt YoU rEAlLy ARe, fREak!" _Virus suddenly shouted in his head, and for the briefest of moments, Mad Dawg slowed down. He jumped over an incoming fence and realized where he was, Coyote Acers… Hawk was clearly winded, and wasn't able to dodge the incoming freight train that was Mad Dawg, the impact knocking Hawk to the ground. Standing over him, Mad Dawg felt nothing now, nothing but fury, anger, _bloodlust._ And it showed on his face. Any training or control he had been doing was

Leaning downward, Dawg's teeth gleamed in the moonlight as his eyes narrowed, ready to strike, ready to kill, ready to-

_Thunk!_

A rock struck him in the shoulder, and he spun in anger, grabbing the rock to throw it back, but then stopped when he saw 'Mad Dawg Was Here! XP' carved into it. Something clicked and he felt the burning hatred soothe somewhat. Looking up, Mad Dawg looked for the attacker, seeing… Lincoln?!

"For each sin, a story." Lincoln said, and the Beast simply blinked. Lincoln lit a match and started a fire in the pit. "You've told tales based on Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, and Envy…"

"Lincoln, what are you doing man!?" Clyde shouted from off to the side.

"But never Wrath... and it's funny, I was reading some of my old Ace Savvy comics, and there's something that caught my attention." Lincoln said calmly. Mad Dawg slowly moving away from the cowering Bully. "There's this character, named Titan. He was a man with a gift that made him different. He was strong, he was fast, and he wanted to do good. He set out to be a hero."

Slowly, Mad Dawg kept approaching Lincoln. His fur on edge, and his body langauge one of an apprehensive predator. His eyes darting around to see any sort of trap. Timidly, he sat down in front of the fire, Lincoln sitting where Mad Dawg would when he told stories here.

"He fought to protect the innocent, and he fought to save the day… but one day, he made a mistake." Lincoln continued. "His powers, they made him hurt someone. Someone who he had never met, and he was afraid. Afraid of what people would think about him… so he hid it, he went back to fighting to protect the innocent. But more people got hurt, his fear controlled him, he was so terrified of hurting someone else, that he didn't see what was in front of him. His fear led him to hurting more people, and more, and more… and eventually, he wasn't afraid, he was angry."

Mad Dawg stopped, taking a step back, and snorting in agitation.

"He wanted to be a hero, and his anger consumed him. Titan started fighting for revenge, hunting down those that hurt him, and doing worse to them… he let his anger become him, his fury his compass. He was kinda like Wrath."

Mad Dawg's eyes had shifted now, seeming less angry, more… hurt. Lincoln knew Mad Dawg was getting his point.

"He kept doing what he was doing, being a misguided hero, and eventually, he was defeated." Lincoln continued. "But he spent the rest of his days left in nothing but blinding fury. He never let go, he never moved on. He was cursed to live with that anger… forever."

"What's your point?" Mad Dawg asked. "That… scrag… shot me."

"Mad Dawg… you don't have to do this." Lincoln said seriously. "I know you're angry, and I know you're scared. But this is your life, it's your choice. You can walk away, let it go… if you need it, we can help you."

Mad Dawg looked back and forth for a moment, considering what was being said, then looked to his hands.

"What would your family think if they saw this?"

"_He's not wrong." _Mad Dawg thought.

"pATheTiC…" Virus spoke up in his head. "THis ba%*# D HUrT thOsE yOu cArE foR, HuRT yoU! You'Ll jUsT LEt thAT gO?!"

"Hey man… I don't know you." Hank spoke up, getting Dawg's attention. "Hawk an'I… we were just screwing around. I had no idea he had a gun, and I had no idea he'd shoot you… that wasn't cool. Ya got a right to be mad, but don't take it out on him."

Mad Dawg glared at the pair, everyone waiting for his answer… but he didn't answer verbally, instead he turned back to Hawk and approached him again. Staring at the bully for a few moments, Mad Dawg reached out one of his paws, helping him up.

"Dude, I am… I had… I…I just…" Hawk stammered trying to think of an explanation.

"Let it go." Dawg said in a low tone. "Let it go."

Turning on his heel, Mad Dawg decided to go home and rest before the second half of his night began. As he left the park, he looked back to Lincoln and Clyde.

"Thank you." He said, his voice calm and genuine. "But we speak of this, to no one."

The six present all nodded in agreement. Thankfully, there were no injuries that couldn't be explained away with 'slipped-and-fell' or 'didn't see where I was going'.

"That's it… I'm locking myself in the basement next Halloween and I'm just gonna watch movies all night…" Hank muttered.

"Same." Hawk nodded.

"Ditto!" Mad Dawg agreed, leaning in, back to normal.

"Wait-WHAT!? How did you!?"

"Don't question it. I'm going home." Mad Dawg said, ignoring anything else that might be happening as he left. It was nearly eight, Lucy's maze opened at eight, and he started at eight thirty. He needed a shower, a drink, and he needed to get in the right mindset… He had lied to the Loud Girl when he said he had done this before… what he wanted to do was something he had never considered. But if it worked, it was going to be _diabolical!_

Over the next few hours, there was a lot of screaming from both the corn maze, and from Mad Dawg's place, and it kept on going until nearly midnight. Just past Eleven, Lynn Sr. Rita, Harold and Howard entered the corn maze as Lucy closed the entrance for the night. Getting through it was the usual fare, a creepy atmosphere. Jump scares, and a generally good time. But it was once they were done that things got weird. Usually, there was a path leading back to the parking lot, but now there were two paths. One had a sign reading 'Exit, Those Who Value Their Sanity' while the other read 'Enter Madness' and seemed to be covered in deep claw marks.

"There's more?" Howard asked, surprised.

"I think she and that Mad Dog guy came up with something else." Harold answered.

"Oh, I've only met him a few times, what's he like?"

"He's… weird." Rita admitted, feeling somewhat wrong talking about Mad Dawg like that, but it was honest. "He's kind-hearted, but also somewhat extreme… still… I feel like Lucy would be upset if we didn't…"

"Oh, c'mon Rita! It's Halloween!" Lynn Sr. laughed. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Down the path led the four on about a six-minute walk, there was tension as they had no idea when something was going to jump out, but they began to see something… shredded documents, hospital reports, a case file… none of them were salvageable, but there was one term that got repeated over and over

'Project: Dawnbreaker'

Lynn Sr. assumed this probably had to do with Mad Dawg's animal form, and it occurred to him Howard and Harold hadn't seen this… which made him smirk slightly.

"…overturned…releasing a monstrosi…" Inexplicably, there was an old TV playing what looked like a news report, with Leni acting as the news Anchor. It was hard to make out what she was talking about, but as they walked there were more TV's, now showing CCTV footage of what looked like a lab. In one flash, there wa something on a table, the next, there was nothing, then after that, the sound of alarms and screams could be heard over some twisted breathing. Any time anyone wanted to ask what was happening, no one had an answer. Finally, they reached one last break in the path, with one last sign.

_Warning: By reading this sign you understand that any damage done to person/persons physically or mentally is not the responsibility of M.L.D.L. Entertainment Limited. _

_Health Warning: The following attraction contains loud music, flashing lights, and effects which most likely will terrify you. If you suffer from a heart condition, are pregnant, or are on medication for Anxiety, it is strongly recommended you exit down the path to your right. By reading this sign, you are agreeing to waive any legal rights to act against M.L.M.D Entertainment Limited. _

_Once more, if you believe you are unable to follow through and enter the attraction, the path to your right will take you to the front of the attraction where the others will leave from. There will be no surprises or frights on this path. Once you enter, the only way out is through. _

_Furthermore, you need to know how to survive, step on- _

"…the sign seems broken." Rita remarked, getting down and looking closer, seeing that the last chunk of the sign seemed torn off. "Well, anyone having second thoughts?"

Everyone was, but no one wanted to admit to it. So, no one said anything. As they entered the building, a decrepit door swung open on its own, revealing nothing but absolute darkness.

"_Welcome… strangers…" _A deep voice spoke with a hiss. _"Many have entered… few have left… how will you fare?" _

Once they were inside, the door slammed shut, making the adults jump slightly, before seeing two flashlights on a table in front of them.

"_This will be your only defence against what's in store… you can turn it on three times, and then no more…" _A female voice spoke, recognizable as Lucy's.

_Click _one of the flashlights turned on, and immediately Lynn Sr. realized he shouldn't have done that. Whoops. Regardless, they followed what looked like a trial of blood into a larger room. It was so dark that the only light was from the flash light. But then the room was bathed in a dark ice blue hue, and the sound of something running could be heard.

A deep laughter echoed throughout the house as music began playing, it sounded like a twisted music box, playing what should've been a soothing tune, but now felt like a warning. A door to the right creaked open as smoke wafted out…

"_Welcome little child to the darkest fears inside!" _Mad Dawg began, suddenly appearing behind the group, making them jump as he approached form the shadows. His head snapping to one side as an arm jerked outwards, his clothes seeming to be stitched together from rotting rags. He continued moving robotically as he motioning further into the house. _"Come join the fun, take a journey through the night. Watch the closet doors, or else the night consumes you more. Taking every piece of your pure soul, leaving blood upon the floor." _Mad Dawg sang, downing a drink, smashing the bottle and proceeding to stab himself with the glass, falling to the ground, possibly dead. There were some screams, but it was hard to tell who was screaming as the lights flashed briefly, showing blood stains all over the floors and wall, and six white spheres floated in the air. As the song continued, gradually building in energy, Mad Dawg re-appeared, as his right arm began twitching and shaking uncontrollably, suddenly snapping backwards with a sickening cracking sound. He seemed to be walking backwards, and the walls were moving… but no one was actually moving from what the parents could tell. Then without warning, the whole room was flooded in blood red flashing lights. From what could be seen, the house seemed to be changing between a laboratory, a graveyard, and some sort of twisted child's room.

_Break, break, break my mind! Break it 'til the tale unwinds  
Force my thoughts through hell and back. Or leave me alone tonight!_

Mad Dawg's anarchic performance continued, the twisted tune blaring as he began appearing behind them… next to them… in front of them… in-between them... Then, everything went still. The lights remained off, aside from the two lights emitted from the flashlights. In one corner, something ran off.

_Fury, fear, you'll feel it all, as your life is sliced up by my claws_

_This can't be real, this can't be right, but now your tapped with this monster tonight!_

"I…I thought this was just a normal haunted maze…" Howard stammered.

"After what I saw this evening, I'm pretty sure that to Mad Dawg, this _is _normal." Lynn Sr. remarked. Turning back to face forward and yelped in shock as Mad Dawg was hanging upside-down in front of him, his face seeming… wrong, some of his teeth now becoming jagged teeth.

"_You thought the safest place to be was locked inside your room." _Mad Dawg continued, spinning and getting back to his feet, standing up, his jacket being torn up by what looked like… more arms. Suddenly, it was apparent they had entered a room, as the doors on either side of the room suddenly slammed shut, and Mad Dawg his disappeared from right in front of them._ "But once those doors are shut tight, this place becomes your tomb. You're putting up a fight, but you won't survive the night. Because you play a game where the only prize is pain!"_

Then, without warning, a hand punched through the door and swiped at Howard, who practically jumped into Harold's arms as the claws slashed about, then disappeared.

_So! Keep an eye on all your toys, 'cause some don't look the same-_

There was the sound of something scuttling, and the group of four found themselves surrounded by what looked like scrap metal scorpions which were coming towards them.

_Your chance to act is long since gone, and now there's only pain!_

The bed was suddenly flipped onto its side and the closet doors opened, Mad Dawgs appeared both from under the bed, and from the closet. The latter actually walking out into the room in front of them, seeming more and more animalistic with each disappearance and re-appearance

_"This Lycan gets impatient, from the overwhelmed sensation~ Of the fueling fear I draw form you as we approach your grave!"_

A series of tombstones dropped from above, making Rita scream and jump back as a bloody hand burst up from the ground.

"_Fury, fear, you feel it all! Like blood pouring off my claws!" _Mad Dawg continued with the song, his hands now seeming more like his 'beast' hands, as a dark liquid was thrown at the adults. "_This can't be real, this can't be right. Now cower before the monster's true sight!_"

"_I'm finally free, who summons me!?"_ Mad Dawg asked, jumping out and now seeming like a deformed monstrosity. A mixture of flesh and fur covered his face and exposed chest. His right arm had changed drastically, becoming the Beast's arm, and the rest of him was twisting and cracking as he approached the group. Effectively, he was half-transformed, and keeping himself in this position intentionally.

_I can't help but notice that you're all alone! It's clear ya trust yourself to dive into beast's realm _

_That's not all, your flashlight is in decay, that can't be too helpful to keep me at bay. _

With every step forward, he seemed to grow more and more monstrous. His right foot twisted almost one hundred degrees before snapping back into place, now growing outwards with long knife-like claws breaking through his crocs. Everything now seemed like a bloody operating room.

_Don't be scared, it's not like I care Your eternal damnnation is what I've prepared!_

_The files you've read, don't be misled, that freak was just meant to be cut up and bled!_

Mad Dawg slid in from somewhere, holding a bloody bone saw. He opened a closet and a figure fell forward. This got a scream, but then they noticed it was made of scrap metal… but still terrifying.

"The closet, whoops, I wouldn't run over. 'Cause Husks are inside, and they follow blood orders!  
Oh and look, your know this guy, your old pal Mad Dawg don't look so alive~" The monstrosity kept singing as Mad Dawg flashed into view, beaten and kept in chains, he lunged forward as if trying to escape, but was dragged away by some unseen force. This again raised the question of how was he in two places at once…

_The freak is unleashed, blood covers his teeth!_

_Can you survive, or are you all dead meat?!_

"Left here all alone, He's surrounded by the fears. Haunted with shackles now they send him straight to tears." A voice that sounded like Lucy's was singing softly, but it didn't have her usual dead-pan tone. Shuffling into the soft blue light, Mad Dawg stumbled out, falling to his knees and looking up with a pleading look on his face. He was scarred, beaten, burned… it was hard to tell if this was real or not.

"He's not allowed to cry, he knows this is where he'll die. And now, it's past his time…"

"Help me…" Mad Dawg weakly groaned as he was suddenly pulled into the darkness, followed by the twisted laughter that began this whole nightmare. As the music went ballistic, Mad Dawg re appeared, spouts of black fire bursting up from the ground, the parents able to feel the heat from them, forcing them all closer together, which they were thankful for when a bunch of mechanical spiders fell from the ceiling directly to where they had been standing. From the shadows, Mad Dawg leapt in once more, landing on a table and towering above them all, his face twisted and his body shifting back-and-forth from human to monster.

_Watch your back, try your best to survive the night…! _The song reached a climax as Lucy walked out and looked up at the adults.

"He's here." Lucy whispered as the music seemed to be coming to a close.

Without warning, Mad Dawg leapt out from the darkness and unleashed the foulest, insane roar he could, leaving Howard and Harold effectively at 'Ground Zero'. The house was filled with screams from the adults, and the roar from Mad Dawg

The lights came back on, revealing that there was only Mad Dawg, Lucy, and a bunch of screens and mirrors.

"Agh! Yes! That… THAT was AWESOME!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, laughing until he cried out in pain as his body began changing. "But I am DONE!"

The adults watched in shock as Mad Dawg's body seemed to be contorting and deforming as he gradually changed back into a human. Bones snapped, his body turned at unnatural positions, fur retreated… it was like something out of a classic horror movie… but eventually Dawg was back to normal… and it was clear _why _he had been wearing track pants.

"Ugh… that hurts like a bitc-"

"What just happened!?"

"Mutant. Transform. Painful. Awesome." Mad Dawg groaned, pulling himself up to the counter and opening his fridge. Grabbing a beer and Phoenix Energy, he shotgunned both before turning to the stunned group. "Happy Halloween!" He grinned.

"How…you…how did you do all that?!" Harold finally asked and Mad Dawg smirked.

"A lotta technical stuff, but the long and short is we used projectors." He explained, pulling a pull-over hoodie and leading the adults back to the main room, showing a number of screens hanging from the ceiling with several mirrors pointing towards them. Grabbing his laptop, Mad Dawg hit some keys and all of a sudden, the screens came to life, showing Mad Dawg standing there, then began walking backwards down the hall, the adults realized _this _had been the shot of the moving walls. Mad Dawg tapped a few keys, and footage on a weird angle played of Mad Dawg coming up from the ground. A few more clips played, showing Mad Dawg in different positions talking without and words. "We used these for the parts that I couldn't do as easily, and the song was mashed together with a prerecord and me singing."

"Huh."

"Lana built a bunch of stages and stuff, things that spun and what not… yeah… I… I am in so much pain…" He remarked. "Look, I'd love to talk more… but I need a second." Walking off, Mad Dawg walked back with a pipe and lit it up. Holding it for a second, he coughed and exhumed smoke. "I don't care what you think or say, I am in _SO _much freakin' pain… I just spent the past few hours breaking every bone in my body over and over."

"That thing with your foot… and your arms… and your neck… and your…"

"Yeah, that's all real." Mad Dawg groaned. "I don't know how much Clyde told you about me, but I'm a mutant. Surviving the un-survivable is one of my talents. That's why I love Halloween, I can go so much farther with scaring people!" To prove his point, Mad Dawg picked up a knife and slashed along his arm, holding the bleeding wound up for all to see as it closed.

"No matter how many times I see that, I still get creeped out by it." Rita admitted.

"All the fire and stuff though? That was fake." Mad Dawg explained. "While I have no issue using pyrotechnics, Lucy was too young, insurance was to much… blah, blah, blah. So… we used heated air cannons and hairdryers."

Lucy pushed back one of the props, revealing a series of hair dryers all blowing hot air outwards.

"After that, Dawg used the screens to make it _look _like there was fire." Lucy continued, pointing back to the screens. "And the mirrors and lights helped with that too. We figured that the best way to get around all that was to keep things moving, the lights flashing, and Mad Dawg moving a lot, that way you'd be unable to tell what was happening."

"Pretty much." Mad Dawg nodded.

"I'm amazed you put all this together." Lynn Sr. remarked.

"So am I." Mad Dawg nodded. "I honestly didn't think we'd pull this off, let alone have as many groups through as we did… Anyhow… That's all folks. You were the last group we had going through, so I'll be taking this all down in the morning."

"All right." Lucy nodded.

"Anything you want form here, let me know and I'll send it your way." Mad Dawg added, the pain of what he had done seemingly catching up with him.

"You're gonna survive?" Lucy asked in her usual mute tone.

"Probably." Mad Dawg groaned, snapping his shoulder back into place. "Eventually."

"Do you need an ambulance, or-" Harold began.

"Nah, no. I'm fine, I need to sit down." Mad dawg hissed, his insides feeling like they had been thrown in a blender while still attached to them. Mad Dawg then fell forward onto his couch, flipped over and kicked his feet up. "Ah… that's better…"

As the group began to leave, Mad Dawg called:

"Happy freakin' Halloween! From Mad Dawg _and _The Beast! Ahahahaha! Ahahahahaha- why am I laughing?"

Mad Dawg blinked, then shrugged and grabbed his laptop, deciding he needed to take a bath, and he needed something to watch while he did so. This was probably going to hurt more than pulling glass out of his body in the Loud's shower, but he felt good.

And way, way, way, way, way, way, WAY too much caffeine running through his system, but that seemed to help speed his healing along, so… take that recommend health guidelines!

**A.N. Wow this chapter is so much longer than I intended. Yes, I used DA Games' **_**Break My Mind **_**in the chapter, I re-wrote some of it because I love that song and think it fit with the whole thing here. Not a huge FNAF fan, but the music is great. **

**Anyhow, I'm glad to have this chapter done, there's one more and this story is done, so come back soon and see how this ends! **


	16. Hogar, Familia, Amigos y Perro Rabioso

Halloween was over, but to some residents of Royal Woods, there was another celebration right around the corner. It was the first day of November, and that meant that Día de Muertos had begun. Bobby and his family celebrated it, not to the extent that they might have if they were in Mexico, but they celebrated nonetheless.

"Hey, Leni. You seen Mad Dawg?" Bobby asked, looking around. "Kinda thought this is the kind of event he'd be at."

"Uh, no I haven't." Leni frowned. "But yeah! He's part Spanish, right? He should be here!"

Looking around, Bobby walked around the backyard gathering as he checked his phone. The message he had sent offering Dawg an invitation to stop by was marked 'read' but there wasn't a reply…

"Yo, Linc." He called the white-haired boy. "You seen Dawg?"

"He's not here?" Lincoln asked. "I thought he would be with you."

"Weird…"

"Maybe he's still cleaning up after Halloween." Ronnie-Ann reasoned. "Or building whatever it was with Lisa."

"No, they finished that a few days ago." Lincoln remarked. "Apparently they're waiting on the power to charge? It wasn't clear."

Bobby looked around some more, but didn't find Mad Dawg. He was a bit puzzled, as Mad Dawg had expressed interest and a want ot hang on during this celebration, even if it was just a briefly drop-in. Was he working on some sort of costume? Maybe… but he would've been cryptically announcing it.

"_Hm… where could he- wait. It's obvious where he is." _Bobby thought as something dawned on him. "Hey, Mom? I'm running to the store, if we need anything just call!"

Bobby wasn't surprised to find Mad Dawg sitting on the rooftop of Trejo's Tacos. He had seen the teen up there a few times, usually powering through a stack of taco piratas (Mr. Trejo had remarked he probably could've stayed in business for a few years off of Mad Dawg alone). But now, he was chilling against an exhaust vent, looking at a handful of pictures.

"Hey."

"Sup Santiago?" Mad Dawg nodded.

"You good?"

"Good enough." Mad Dawg shrugged.

"Yeah… good enough." Bobby nodded, sitting down next to him. They sat in silence, Mad Dawg smoking… something, for a moment, before looking over to Bobby with a somewhat flat look on his face.

"If you're expecting me to have some whole 'I-don't-know-what-to-do' breakdown, you've got it all wrong. That's not why I'm here."

"Meaning?"

"Today is Día de Muertos, I'm not an idiota… despite what some of you think…" Mad Dawg admitted. "I know that you celebrate this day with festivities and all that, but I just wanted to be alone today."

"No offence, that just seems _super_ out of character for ya." Bobby remarked. "You were always off the wall, most likely getting yourself nearly killed… I never took you for the solemn and reflective type."

"Eh. This has been a weird day for me." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I've lost like… five families, and re-gained two of them, then lost them again, one for good... I swear, my life is more tragic than a Rouge's backstory!"

"Huh, I mean. I guess." Bobby muttered.

"This day has usually been my just thinking back to my family, and trying to find some sort of peace. Now that I died, and then didn't die, I'm not sure what to do!" Mad Dawg laughed. "The guy who was kinda like a dad, or an Uncle, or maybe a grandfather… he's dead. My family thinks I'm dead, and… yeah man. I dunno."

"I'm surprised." Bobby blinked. "You always seem to be improvising fifty plans should anything go wrong. I've never seen you like this."

"I act like I know what I'm doing, but when it comes to addressing myself? My family and past? I don't know what I'm doing…like, what do they even think? Do they remember me?"

The silence returned, and Mad Dawg felt at peace for a change. It was a nice feeling if he was honest, and he knew it wouldn't last… so he'd enjoy it while he could.

"They miss you, man." Bobby remarked. "I can tell you that. If you were half the hero you were a friend, then they'll miss you."

"Wasn't great at either of those…" Mad Dawg muttered.

"You were to me. And to Leni, and Luna, and Lincoln, and Rusty, and…" Bobby began listing names off before trailing off as Mad Dawg nodded in understanding.

"At the end of the day, I don't know what's gonna happen to me if I die for real." Mad Dawg remarked with a frown. "Do I have a soul? If not, what happens to a mutant when they die? On top of that, I kept bad company, so I don't know if this day includes spirits who may be in hell, and-"

"Whoa, calm down there, Dawg." Bobby said, holding his hands up. "I didn't mean to start anything."

"You didn't, sorry... I just got…" Mad Dawg began but shook his head laughing. "That's part of it, the other part is I'm not certain how the town will react after that mishap on Halloween."

"Hey man, no one got hurt." Bobby shrugged indifferently, and Mad Dawg coughed. "It shouldn't be that awkward."

"I dunno man, your mom seemed pretty freaked last night…"

"Oh, she was!" Bobby laughed. "She saw you and thought you were a mix of the Huay Chivo and a Nahual!"

"Huh. I've been called a lot of stuff, but never been called a Goat Witch. That's new." Mad Dawg remarked. "Still, it's better than being called a furry La Lorona or something…"

"It's _La Llorona_." Bobby corrected him "Also, I doubt you'd be called that, because La Llorona is a woman, and human."

"Oh." Mad Dawg blinked.

"So… I gotta ask, who was the dude you've mentioned? The guy who was like your grandfather?" Bobby asked after laughing at Dawg's awkward reaction.

"Aw… Don Kim." Mad Dawg grinned like an idiot, smiling widely. "Okay, I need you to promise you won't freak out until I'm done with the explanation, okay?"

"I can't promise that."

"Fair enough. Don Kim was at one point the leader of a Japanese Criminal Syndicate." Mad dawg began with the explanation, immediately seeing Bobby's eyes widen. "And… he was nearly three hundred years old. Before you ask, advanced medicine… and he ripped my heart out."

"Hold on… what!?"

"Look, I woke up one morning, and my heart was missing. They put a car battery in my chest like that one movie, and I went to find him. Turns out, they believed that my heart would make him immortal because of my regeneration ability. That was kinda true… but I'll circle back to that-"

"Hang on, you have a car battery for a heart?! How does that work!?"

"I don't have it anymore." Mad Dawg replied dismissively. "But it worked because of some weird science thing where the electricity kept my brain alive, and it let me walk and stuff. I found Kim, and it turned out they were supposed to give me a replacement heart and send me on my way, but I woke up before that happened and… uh… it didn't end well."

"So, did you get your heart back?"

"Nah, I let him keep it." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I got a new one, and then we ended up teaming up to stop an insurrection from within the organization. He saved my life, I saved his, and we got along pretty well."

"Kid… you're insano!" Bobby laughed. If this was any other person, he probably would've said they were lying, but after all he had seen? He believed it.

"Well, we hit a club, had some drinks, I was underaged, don't care. Then we went our separate ways… we met up on an off chance and we hung out some more, we got talking and found common ground, he… well… he kinda became a good friend. I was in a bad place, and he helped me out of it."

"Damn man… that's just… weird." Bobby laughed.

"Yeah, we did a lot together, chilling on the beach, shuffleboard, Mahjong, paintball, gentlemen clubs, blackout drinking… I mean-ahem…Uh, yeah."

Bobby laughed again, noticing Mad Dawg seemed to grow somewhat downcast… but then again, supposedly Don Kim was dead, so that couldn't be easy… Losing your father figure? It was something Bobby didn't know a lot about, but knew what the pain felt like.

"He made me feel like I had someone I could rely on. He was there when I needed him, he was there when I needed someone to back me up… he was my family. And at this point, I had been in and out of a _lot _of families."

"Yo, what?" Bobby asked, then quickly caught himself. "Hey, you don't need to talk about-"

"I was found and taken to a foster home. It didn't work." Mad Dawg shook his head. "After my family, some of the ones who think I'm gone again, had a falling out, I ended up taking care of myself. I went through a few homes, but the parents always got freaked out when they saw my mutations… Just the healing stuff, I didn't know I had that other side yet… and I ended up leaving a few of them."

"Geez… Daw, I'm sorry, I had no idea-"

"What are you sorry for?" Mad Dawg asked, confused. "I have literally _zero _emotional connection to them. Sure, I grew up taking care of myself from like… nine onwards, but that's part of what I owe to Don Kim. He gave me a place to call home, he gave me stability… I owe that to him, and to Marcus, Angela, Ray, Lena, Jack, Jesse and so many more."

"So… what happened to him?" Bobby asked, knowing he probably shouldn't, but did want to know.

"Remember how I said he has my heart in him?" Mad Dawg asked, and the older Santiago boy nodded. "That… well… so part of my regeneration comes from my blood. I was meant to be a pharmaceutical cure, so I have an excess of antibodies and other… stuff in my blood. When we traded hearts, some of my blood got mixed in his. This had two effects: one, he was able to have more energy, heal from minor wounds, and live longer. But two, part of why I haven't given my blood to scientists, is because it is EXTREMLY toxic." He looked to Bobby who seemed to understand where this was going. "Over the next few years, that toxic blood poisoned him… and eventually it killed him."

That wasn't the whole story, as there had been clones, dragons and a Yakuza-swordfight with a cyber-ninja, but that wasn't important.

"Hey… I… I'm sorry." Bobby said quietly, putting a hand on Dawg's shoulder. "I didn't mean to open old wounds."

"Nah, I actually needed this." Mad Dawg smiled at him. "This is how I wanted to spend Día de Muertos, just talking about my family, remembering them through good and bad… so thank you."

Usually, Mad Dawg would've expected this conversation to have lasted an hour or two, but it had only been thirteen minutes since Bobby showed up.

"He did a lot of bad things in his life, but he died a hero, to me at least." Mad Dawg remarked, off-handedly. "Not just a hero, but in some ways… a father."

The two nodded, Mad Dawg passed Bobby some pictures which he looked through.

"So… I was looking for you, because I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with Luna, Leni and a few others, there's a sort-of Día de Muertos celebration at my place. Tonight, there's more of what I guess you could call 'spiritual' events, but until then, everyone's hanging out, wondering if you wanted to join."

"All right." Mad Dawg nodded. "Let's go!"

"Hey, one thing." Bobby said. "You might need a mask."

Not too far down the street, Lisa was going over some notes when a bright blue blur caught her attention. Opening her backpack, her jaw hit the floor as she saw the power cell seemingly functioning. She had been charging it with what she could find around the house, and it seemed to have done the trick! Not wasting any time, she hurried to where Dawg had moved the doorway to in a small clearing in order to make her room less cluttered and slammed the cell in. There was a tense silence, then her heart leapt.

"It…it's working…" Lisa muttered in disbelief. "Where's Mad Dawg!?"

A few houses down, Mad Dawg was chilling in a tree as the celebration was cleaning up for the second part once the sun set. Music was playing, and he found himself singing and playing along to a Spanish rendition of one of his favourite songs on an old, beaten up acoustic guitar Luna had given him as a way to apologize for what happened during filming.

_Acérquense hermanos dondequiera que estén,__  
__Hay que ver lo que el mar rodando te de.__  
__Aguas siguen creciendo forman inundación._

He smiled to himself, and nearly fell out of a tree when he saw an old man sitting in a chair near the Louds. He didn't speak, and they didn't seem to notice him, but he looked right at Mad Dawg and smiled.

_Y te hundes si no empiezas nadando.__  
__Y te ahogas ahí mismo,__  
__Una piedra en el mar._

"Don Kim?" Mad Dawg whispered, and after he blinked, he was gone.

_Los tiempos van cambiando__._

Mad Dawg put his guitar in his bad and jumped out of the tree, deciding to get some more food. When he was at the table, another man approached, Mad Dawg assuming his was related to the Santiagos.

"Nice party, ain't it?" He remarked.

"Yeah." Dawg nodded, a little awkward on small talk.

"First time?"

"Eh… kinda. Never been to a full celebration like this."

"Fair enough." The man nodded. "So, how's it so far?"

"So far? Great." Mad Dawg smiled. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling, but I know what I am feeling… if that makes any sense…"

"I get your point." The man nodded. "Sometimes things that don't make sense, make the most sense." 

"I guess…" Mad Dawg bit his lip, then turned to the man. "Hey, have we met before?"

"Oh, most definitely yes." The man nodded. "You might have been too young to remember it. But that's just the way it was. Don't blame yourself for what happened kid, I forgive you."

"You… forgive me? What the hell are you on about?!" Mad Dawg sputtered in disbelief.

"…Beta, do you not recognize me?" The man asked. "I'm-"

"Jax…"

"Hey, who are you talking to?" Ronnie-Ann asked, making Dawg snap to attention. He fumbled for words before finally getting "Jax." Out. The young Santiago girl simply gave him a confused look and said: "There's no one named Jax here."

"He was right-" Mad Dawg began, but realized he was alone by the food.

"Dawg! It's working! You have to go _NOW!" _Lisa suddenly shouted. "I don't know how much longer this can hold!"

"Hold up, what's working!?"

"The doorway! It's activated! There's maybe two minutes before the whole thing blows! This is our one chance at this!"

"I…" Mad Dawg muttered, looking back and forth from the door to his home, which he now saw activated, back to this new home.

"Dawg… you don't _have _to go…" Leni said awkwardly.

"Kace." Bobby said in a calm tone. "Go to your family."

"I am…" Mad Dawg said quietly, and then his eyes widened. "Heh… couldn't escape that cliché I guess…"

"It's your choice, but I think you need to choose quickly." Lincoln nodded, having heard their conversation. "Do what feels right to you."

Mad Dawg smiled, feeling tears threaten to form and nodded.

"Thanks for everything… el compañero." Mad Dawg nodded, and Bobby grinned. "You too Leni."

"You got my name right!"

"After all this time, you'd hope I had!" Mad Dawg laughed.

Finally, he sighed, having made up his mind. Deciding it was time to go home. Sprinting towards the glowing doorway, he noticed it was beginning to crack, and smoke was emanating off of the power cell. Backflipping over a bench, he kept running, clutching his messenger bag close, knowing he wasn't going to have any time to spare, so he needed to say anything he wanted to say now.

With an audible _SHWAAAAA _the doorway opened and a purplish vortex spun within the door frame. Mad Dawg skidded to a halt in front of the Loud Family and Santiago's, who had appeared trying to figure out what Lisa had done this time, and looked back and forth.

"Listen, I don't have time." Mad Dawg panted, looking to the Louds, who were amazed at what was happening. "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

"We get it Dawg. Go home." Lincoln smiled, albeit somewhat sadly. "Just don't forget you owe Lisa some stuff, so find a way back, okay?" Mad Dawg grinned, tossed him a notebook with 'Stupid Plans Vol. 1' written on it, and turned to run off.

"Dawg, wait!" Sam exclaimed, having been with Luna, running forward and grabbing his hand.

"Sam, I don't have time! I need to-" Mad Dawg began, but realized she put something in his hand. It was a cassette tape with _Dragon's Mix_ written as the name. "Thanks." He smiled at her. "Also, make amends with Luna! And my house is yours! Everything's paid off for three years!"

Sam and Luna blinked in shock and Mad Dawg closed the distance to the doorway which was beginning to smoke and flame somewhat. Then paused right at the edge of it.

"It's gonna explode Kace!" Lisa shouted, running behind a tree to avoid the potential blast. "It's literally _now or never_!"

"**I LOVE YOU ALL! DAWGY'S GOING HOME!"** Mad Dawg shouted, knowing there was so much more he wanted to say, but he couldn't. This was his one chance to go home, he had to take it!, Mad Dawg dove backwards the vortex throwing up two 'rock on!' hand signs as he did so, and the door shut behind him. Then, in a cacophony of energy, power and science, the entire machine sparked violently and imploded in on itself. The frame being blown in two, and the door all but vaporized. **"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" **

As the smoke died down, the warped frame of the doorway was left burnt and deformed. Lisa lifted up her mask and breathed shakily, unable to process what had just happened. Slowly, everyone looked around for Mad Dawg, trying to figure out of this was another trick of his, or if this actually worked.

"Where'd he go?!" Luna finally asked.

"I think… I think he went home…" Lisa blinked. "I can't say for certain, but I think it worked!"

"So… the two of you built a device that can send someone into another dimension?"

"Effectively, yes." Lisa nodded.

"I have no idea how I should feel about that." Leni remarked.

"…good-bye Mad Dawg." Lucy finally said, saying the farewell no one else had.

"Honestly… this is not how I expected today to turn out." Lori admitted, seeming downright baffled.

"Me neither." Rita added, followed by Lily making some sort of garble of acknowledgment.

Regardless, the small explosion did result in the police being called, and initially it was believed to be a meth lab explosion… but thankfully it ended up being reported as illegal fireworks, and none of the Louds or Santiagos were charged. A few hours passed, and the Louds decided to head home. They weren't sure if Dawg was gone or not… but they hoped for the best. When she returned to her room and flopped down on her bed, sighing dramatically, Lisa was surprised to find a vial of red liquid, as well as a stack of papers on her desk. The papers were filled with complex compounds and chemical strains she had never seen before explained and documented. Flipping through them, she realized what they were, they were some of Dawg's notes… when she got to the end of the stack, she found a note with three simple words written on it.

_I trust you. – MD_

After a full week had passed with no contact whatsoever, the Louds assumed that Lisa had somehow succeeded, Mad Dawg had gone home! Opening the door to Mad Dawg's home, Luna and the band entered, turning on the lights and looking around the now abandoned house. Lincoln and a few others entering as well.

"I can't believe he's gone." 'N' remarked. "He just… up and left…"

"Hey, Ash." Luna said, turning to face her bandmate. "He went home, that's what he wanted. Or maybe he's half-way across the world and is hitchhiking his way back. Either way-"

"No, I'm not mad, I just wish I got to say thanks…" 'N' remarked, then soured. "Also, he owed me ten bucks!"

"Ha." Chunk laughed.

"He owed be twenty!" Sam added.

"Ha!" Luna laughed.

"He stole twenty from you as well." Sam confessed looking to Luna, who was taken aback by the statement. "Remember when you swore you had twenty dollars but couldn't find it?"

"Ha!" 'N' laughed at Luna's shocked face.

Upstairs, Lincoln and Clyde found a collection of VHS tapes, mostly of terrible monster films, and put one on. An Irish film about a giant fish-monster…

"I'm… I'm gonna miss him." Lincoln finally said as the opening credits rolled. "He was a fun guy."

"Same." Clyde nodded. "I still remember when we first met…"

"Yeah, you thought he was gonna sell our organs." Lincoln snarked, his feet resting on a box which they didn't see was marked 'Organs'. "He was… he was certainly a character!"

"_That _is the word I was looking for." Clyde nodded in agreement, seeing a mini-fridge and grabbing two Phoenix Energies. "I swear, if your sister's device didn't kill him, his addiction to these will."

"I still don't know if he _CAN _die." Lincoln remarked, laughing somewhat.

"Oof, fair point."

Down below, Luna tuned her guitar, and looked to her band. "You guys ready?" She asked with a grin. Their newest song 'Fury of the Beast' had been written, but now they needed to practice. When she saw 'N' and Sam grin, she added: "One, two, one, two, three, four!"

"So, do you think he actually went home?" Ronnie-Ann asked, sitting next to Lincoln.

"Honestly? I can't say." Lincoln shook his head. "Never in a million years could I think of a plan where 'dimensional travel' was a key factor… still, I think no matter where he ends up, he'll land on his feet!"

_Somewhere… Also, One Week Ago…_

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

_Wham!_

"Ow!"

_Thud! _

"Gah!"

_Crack!_

"Ack!"

_Crunch!_

"Yeow!"

_Thumpthumpthunmpthumpthumpthump…_

Finally coming to a stop on warm ground, Mad Dawg groaned as he pulled himself up, his head was killing him and his vision was blurry. The whole world was still spinning and his head felt like it was closing in on itself. With a _WHUMP! _His bag landed right next to him, having survived the fall. Sighing in relief, Mad Dawg opened his bag and got out the small medkit he had, taking a flask and bottle of aspirin out and downing two pills. After a few minutes, Mad Dawg sighed in relief as his head seemed to loosen up somewhat, letting him catch his breath.

"Wait…?" He mumbled, pulling himself up. Stumbling forward, Mad Dawg ran towards what looked like a road, before skidding to a stop. He spun about, trying to figure out something, ANYTHING! What was happening!? He wasn't home… Where was- _"Wait. What's that!?" _

Was that…

A sign…?

It was! A sign!

Running towards it, Mad Dawg slung his bag onto his back, feeling the warm ground beneath his hands and feet. He never thought he'd be relieved to see of all things, a sign… but this was a weird place, and he had no idea what to do. First, if he figured out where he was, then he could start a plan, maybe find a place to stay, weapons, or-

All at once, Mad Dawg's heart exploded. Terror filled his veins as he saw the sign, that almost seemed to be written in blood, everything clicked, everything solidified, and any hope Mad Dawg had died in his heart.

_Welcome To Hell, You Were Always Told To Go Here, Now You're Here!_

"Oh, _**fffffffuuuuuu**_-"

**The End. **

**Mad Dawg's Tale isn't over! Come back next time for the next story; Dawg Outta Hell! **

**A.N. And so, the second Tale of Mad Dawg comes to a close. TBH, The Loud House was probably the wrong choice for the sequel coming off of Overwatch, and I mostly chose it so I could try and slow things down and patch some wounds. I knew from the first chapter this one had to be shorter, and frankly, it's about six chapters longer than I intended, and the ending is kinda anti-climactic compared to my original idea (battle of the bands, Dawg choosing to stay but getting dragged into another world, Virus physically appearing, resulting in a throw down. This would've taken too long). Still, this was fun to write, and I think I managed to recover after some of the blunders I had in the first story. I wanted to do more emotional beats/scenes, but they would've extended the story, so I figured to just keep running with what I have and focus more on jokes and bizarre scenarios. It didn't always pan out how I wanted, but hey, it is what it is! Thanks to all of you who read the story, and for putting up with my mispronunciation of Spanish terms. **

**Also, I should probably confess to this, I had seen two episodes of The Loud House when I started writing this. So… why did I choose this show for Mad Dawg to crash into? **

**I dunno. I think it had to do with some of the stories I read under Gamer95's favourited list, and I figured 'Eh, this could work.' **

**Still, next story is one I'm looking forward to! I've written… A LOT of it already, so check back soon! Like, within a few hours. Maybe even minutes. We'll see… **

**Thanks for sticking around! **

**SkorchNTorch**


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